The High Priestess & The Dark Lady
by Millie
Summary: Following the end of Part 2 - Zelda is left in charge as things crumble around her. She's searching for answers, trying to understand what her place is in this new world. Lilith is no longer inhabiting Mary Wardwell, yet Zelda finds herself drawn to her. What is the new will of this new world?
1. Chapter 1

It was a new world, this world without The Church of Night. Where witches and warlocks were now stowed away in every nook and cranny of the funeral home, the academy no longer safe for them to inhabit, and Faustus – that insufferable, egotistical man – gone. Vanished in the night with the twins. And Prudence was gone to find him, to kill him, and then she would be left even more alone to fend for herself. And then there was Sabrina. Sabrina with her powers restored and her father's supposed doctrine to spread to all and Zelda hadn't the faintest idea – after _all_ of these years – as to what it was she was to do now that there may not be a Dark Lord to bring her concerns to.

These were the things that worried her at night, that kept her tossing and turning.

It was nearing the witching hour and she was in her bathrobe in the kitchen, smoking a cigarette and leafing through the Unholy Bible in search of answers – though in her lifetime she had read it cover-to-cover and knew that there would be nothing. Nothing at all of Sabrina, her own niece, taking on the Dark Lord.

Everything was flipped on its head and now. Had they come into the time where men were absent from control and females had come into power? That, too, had not been in the Unholy Bible.

Her finger skimmed down the page, her eyes weary from lack of sleep, from having to feign total control over the falling apart situation. She was the strong one, she was the one in control, she was the head of the household and she would protect it at all costs.

Only how did they move forward?

Her finger stopped moving halfway down the page.

_Lilith_

The name brought her pause. Lilith was now in hell, dealing with Satan only knew what. Had the Dark Lord freed himself? Awoken? Had she killed Nicholas in order to protect everyone? Was she truly the reigning deity of the underworld now?

Zelda closed her eyes. If Satan was no longer to be trusted, then could Lilith be?

The idea thrilled her.

For all of her existence she had exalted men, had allowed them to take and use her body for their whims. Had she truly ever liked the ways in which they had touched her? Faustus had been so perverse with her body. There had been so many, many men before him. Since her early years beginning with Ezra during her first Lupercalia. The way he'd touched her beneath the moon and then had ravished her the following eve. It made her body ache, but she had been taught to accept his authority, accept what it was he was doing to her and to not ask questions.

She did not come from a time in which women so readily or easily went against what men demanded and decreed.

But now things were changing.

"Oh, Lilith. What am I supposed to do now?" Zelda blew out a cloud of smoke, rubbing her forehead.

Her eyes slid closed and she recalled the face of Mary Wardwell. How idiotic was Zelda to have not realized, to have not pieced together the fact that Sabrina's beloved teacher was no longer herself? Zelda had never noticed the unassuming teacher before these last few months of horrors. But now those vivid blue eyes jumped out at her, gave her some odd sense of comfort in her world of turmoil.

Though Mary Wardwell was _not_ Lilith. Ms. Wardwell was a spinster who lived alone and knew nothing of these last few months, for she had been living dormant inside Lilith. Lilith was not Ms. Wardwell.

She felt something at her elbow and quickly looked up to find Hilda at her side. "Might want to tap off your ash there."

"Oh," Zelda realized her cigarette was nearly to its end.

"What are you doing up, love?" Hilda looked at her with concerned eyes. She resented those eyes.

"Hilda, darling," she glanced about as if expecting one of the young witches or warlocks to be peeking around the corner, catching her in a moment of weakness. "It's all so uncertain now."

Hilda nodded, "tea?"

Zelda nodded in agreement and stubbed out her cigarette, lighting up another. Hilda gave her a look but she pretended not to see it. "With Faustus gone and the Dark Lord…well…I'm all there is left and I…"

"Zelda, you're not alone." Hilda settled beside her, covering her hand with her own.

"No," Zelda wiped angrily at the corner of her eye. "No, I'm not."

"_She_ hasn't spoken to you?"

"Who?" Zelda watched as Hilda got up to get the gently humming tea pot off the stove.

"Lilith. I thought perhaps…"

"No. I haven't heard a word nor gotten a sign. I hope…" Zelda paused to accept her cup of steaming tea from Hilda.

Hilda nodded, knowing what it was that Zelda worried for. "It will sort itself out in time. You needn't worry yourself ragged over it now."

Zelda exhaled a cloud of smoke, feeling as if every last inch of her body was releasing with the gentle herbal blend that Hilda had given to her. She knew Hilda was right. There was no use in worrying about it now.

"That's a good girl. You should get on to bed, have some shut eye and it will all be better in the morning." Hilda whispered to her sister.

"What'd you put in this tea?" Zelda felt her eyes drooping.

"Don't you worry, Zel."

Zelda had to give in to her sister's herbal knowledge for she felt she was about to fall over in her seat. She put out her cigarette and swayed her way to their bedroom, making it just in time to collapse onto her bed, falling into a sound, deep sleep with images of Mary Wardwell, Lilith, Ms. Wardwell, Lilith…. Lilith…Mary…what was she doing…Lilith was no longer Ms. Wardwell…Ms. Wardwell was no longer Lilith…what was it she was trying to tell her?

* * *

Hilda needed more food for the witches and warlocks and with her hands full cooking it was up to Zelda to run to town and for the first time in a while she felt as if she were actually useful to her new charges. The way they looked to her sometimes frightened her, though she would never admit it.

In her quest for the ingredients Hilda had requested her to find, she walked past the town's movie theatre and nearly ran right into Mary Wardwell.

"Oh," Zelda reached for the other woman, at first not recognizing her at all – what with her hair piled atop her head and such muted make-up and naked fingernails. Gone was all flourish of Lilith and what was left was this meek, schoolmarm.

"Z-Zelda. Zelda Spellman?" Ms. Wardwell stuttered, her arm still bracing Zelda from their collision.

"Ms. Wardwell, I apologize."

"No need for that, I wasn't watching where I was going." Ms. Wardwell shrugged, realizing her hand was on Zelda's arm, and promptly removed it. "How…how have you been? I feel as if so much has changed in such a short span of time. Have you noticed that as well?"

"Well," Zelda shrugged, not certain how to explain to the woman before her that she had been possessed, possibly dead inside of Lilith for over a year. What was there to say? "Yes, I suppose things have changed. Though don't they always?"

Ms. Wardwell's eyebrow rose and she consented. "Yes, I suppose that is true."

"What is it that you were just seeing?"

"Oh, a silly old movie." Ms. Wardwell shrugged.

Zelda glanced up to the marquee. _Bell, Book and Candle_. Interesting choice. Zelda remembered fondly when that ridiculous movie came out. She willed Kim Novak to stay away from Jimmy Stewart, but it was ridiculous Hollywood and she'd given up her powers. What woman in her right mind would do such a ridiculous thing?

She happened a glance at Ms. Wardwell and noticed a blush creeping over her cheeks.

"I, uh, should be going. Musn't keep my sister waiting for her groceries." Zelda held up her list.

"Oh, yes. Of course. I wouldn't want to keep you." Ms. Wardwell smiled sheepishly.

Zelda felt her own brow furrow and she looked at the woman, so tightly wound. So very unlike Lilith had been. Yet, this woman held traces of Lilith's potential, and those eyes held a certain wisdom. "You know, perhaps I haven't been as involved in Sabrina's school activities as I should have been. I feel as if I should have been in touch with you more often."

Ms. Wardwell shrugged. "It's no...problem." Her voice was so much softer than it had been when she was Lilith. Zelda knew the range of those powerful tones and she wanted to evoke them from her again. "Really, Sabrina is a charming young woman and I enjoy her immensely."

"And she idolizes you." Zelda smiled.

Ms. Wardwell looked as if she were blushing again. "Well, that's very good."

Zelda nodded, uncertain as to why she was trapped in this moment with Mary Wardwell, just hovering there, as if expecting something to transpire. Though Ms. Wardwell didn't seem uneasy – only by the compliments Zelda paid her. Perhaps Zelda was enchanted by the idea that perhaps Lilith could speak to her through Ms. Wardwell. Was she waiting for some kind of a sign from Lilith, some message bestowed upon her through Ms. Wardwell?

But she was being foolish. Lilith was returned to her rightful home in the underworld and Lilith was not alive inside of Ms. Wardwell anymore.

"I should be going." Zelda wiped at her forehead.

"You know…" Ms. Wardwell's voice almost sounded like Lilith's which stopped Zelda in her tracks.

"Yes?" Zelda froze, unable to step away.

"We don't know one another that well, though I've always thought - perhaps I'm being presumptuous - but I thought…I thought perhaps we might have things in common."

Zelda smiled. "Yes, I think so."

"Would you…well, might you like to come by some evening for dinner?" Ms. Wardwell sounded uncomfortable, these words foreign on her tongue. And Zelda found it endearing that she should dare to put herself out on a limb to invite her to dinner. For they were both women of a certain age (Zelda even more so than Ms. Wardwell) and she sensed such a hidden strength in the other woman and so why shouldn't they forge some kind of acquittance with one another.

"Why yes, yes of course. I would certainly enjoy that."

"You would…yes, well…okay then. I'll phone you with the details."

"I look forward to it."

They exchanged several glances, Zelda noticing such a change in Ms. Wardwell – the way in which her lips twitched upwards as they parted.

So, they would be having dinner together.

Was this Lilith's will?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Zelda let the corner of her newspaper sag, her eyes flashing to her niece (and even if she wasn't her niece technically she still considered her very much her own flesh and blood). So that when Sabrina brought up this harebrained scheme to go back to the Underworld to save Nicholas, she was livid.

"It's absolutely out of the question. Must I remind you of what happened, what _just_ happened only a week ago? I absolutely forbid you to carry out this plan. No. No, you shall put your powers to better use and help Ambrose and Hilda and I in restoring the academy into a safe haven for these children. You will not go off and get yourself into any more trouble concerning the Underworld."

"But I owe it to…"

"You owe nothing to no one, Sabrina. It seems that it is hard enough for you to keep yourself alive and out of trouble. This is only inviting more harm and danger to this world."

"But he did this for me. To protect me. And now that I have my powers back I can outsmart and outwit the Dark Lord."

"Absolutely not, Sabrina." Zelda felt her blood boiling at the idiotic suggestion of going anywhere near that place ever again. She had once thought, once a long, long time ago that to be able to locate and find the entrance to the Underworld and to be able to walk through those doors would be such a wonderful, life-fulfilling event. That if she could make her way there and be praised and loved that her life would be complete, but having watched Lilith walk into that barren wasteland, she realized that it was not some pleasant, lovely place in which to reside. It seemed cold – for as hot as it had been.

Sabrina gave her that look. The look that told her that she would do whatever she wanted, but would shut up for the time being. She stood from the table. "I'm meeting Harvey and Roz and Theo in town."

"Don't do anything rash." Zelda cautioned, but knew her words would fall on deaf ears. She dropped the day's newspaper onto the table, lit up a fresh cigarette and then turned to look at Hilda who was staring with worried eyes at her.

"You don't think…"

"Well I certainly hope she's not idiotic enough to do such a ridiculous thing. It would be a death mission."

"You have to stop her." Hilda stood and began clearing their plates from the table, taking to her house-ly duties because she was upset.

"Hilda…you know I'll keep my eye on her. But…" Zelda's voice trailed off. "She's stronger than we are."

Hilda let out the strangest, most helpless little moan. "I'm putting on a pot of tea."

The phone rang. Zelda felt her heart leap in her chest.

"Who might that be?" Hilda looked at her with confusion.

"How the heavens should I know?" Zelda responded coolly, but stood from the table to retrieve the ringing contraption. "Hello?" She asked into the phone, turning away from Hilda's prying ears and eyes.

"Zelda…Zelda Spellman?" The voice on the other end was so timid yet very, very welcome to her ear.

"Yes?"

"It's Ms…Mary. Mary Wardwell."

"Yes, but of course." Zelda leaned against the wall, having awaited this very call for nearly a week. She had begun to worry that the other woman might never call and that she had misread their momentary run-in. She hardly paused to consider why it was that any of this mattered _so_ much, only that she knew she wanted to share another moment with this woman. Perhaps it would help her to understand how all of this had come to pass, for she needed clarity, she needed to know.

"I apologize for contacting you so late…it was only, well…might you still be interested in dinner?"

"Why yes, no need to apologize."

"Well very good. Does Friday evening work?"

"Very well."

"Then it's a date." Mary laughed and then made a sort of gasp as if she realized what she had said.

"It is." Zelda agreed so as to ease the moment.

Friday. So it would be that they would have a dinner together.

* * *

Her eyes wandered to the cross above the fireplace. It made her feel warm beneath her collar. The room was bright, lit up with a beautiful glow of white candles and she was surrounded by beautiful, fresh foliage, philodendron flourishing and thriving everywhere. It was so warm, this home of Mary Wardwell. It smelled of roast chicken and cinnamon apples.

And this domestic scene would have frightened Zelda in the past, for the lights were so bright for her delicate eyes and she was afraid that Ms. Wardwell might see the cracks in her façade (for having been born in the 1300s she could only do so much), but there was something about this _mortal_ that drew her in. Yes, before the events of the past few days Zelda may have revered mortals with distain – for she had suffered through years and years of living in a sort of fear of them, taught to hate them and never trust them. But now, things were changed. Sabrina had her mortal friends. Why could she not have mortal friends?

And there was something about Ms. Wardwell that intrigued her. No, she was no longer Lilith – as could be witnessed by their dreadfully cheery surroundings – but she had a darkness which loomed over her.

The cross was certainly curious.

"The roast is ready." Ms. Wardwell appeared with a casserole dish clasped between potholders, her eyes sparkling with a want to please. She smelled of honeysuckles and roses and was dressed from her day of teaching, cloaked in a nice emerald green that felt almost too upbeat for her.

"Smells heavenly." Zelda purred, unfolding herself from the chair by the fireplace to join Ms. Wardwell at the table.

There was an awkward silence that settled between them, for neither woman seemed to fully understand nor know what it was that the other was doing there. For Zelda felt an intruder upon so mundane a life (devoid of witchcraft and the destruction of the world) and she sensed that Ms. Wardwell, whom was used to a life of solitude, did not fully know what it was to have a female friend for dinner.

"So," Zelda broke their uneasy silence, clasping her wine glass in her hand for she did not wish to resort to her cigarette habit in so pure a home. "What was it that brought you to Greendale?" For she knew that Ms. Wardwell was not from around here. She remembered vividly the time in which Ms. Wardwell had come to Greendale, fresh from college.

"Oh," Ms. Wardwell thought about this for a moment. "To be honest?" She peered at Zelda over the top of her glasses. Those piercing eyes the only remaining thing from Lilith, for unlike Lilith, Ms. Wardwell wore her hair in a neat French twist. Contained, controlled, conservative. "I was fascinated by the history of the place." Ms. Wardwell looked distant for a moment, as if lost in thought. She tucked a strand of hair that had broken loose behind her ear and sighed. "I was drawn to Greendale, I can't quite explain it, but it fascinated me. You know of the myths about the place?"

Zelda's eyebrow rose, "you mean…what they say about witches looming about in the forest, haunting everything around here, especially the mine?"

Ms. Wardwell nodded with a playful look on her lips. "Yes, those myths…those stories. I studied them in college. I was very fascinated by witchcraft."

"And yet, I can tell you are a devout…" Zelda glanced at the cross again.

"Catholic." Ms. Wardwell acknowledged the cross. "Yes, I suppose at a certain time I was a devout Catholic. I certainly spent the formative years of my life immersed in the religion, but when I got to college I was introduced to a new world."

"So the cross is…"

"Merely a precaution." Ms. Wardwell smiled. Zelda smiled – finding it rather ironic that Ms. Wardwell might think the cross could prevent anything after all that the woman's body had just been through.

Ms. Wardwell twirled her freed strand of hair between her fingers, drawing Zelda's attention back to her. "Do you believe in the stories of Greendale? Certainly, you must have some inclination; after all, you run the funeral home."

Zelda hummed. What an interesting turn to the evening. Ms. Wardwell was enchanted by the enchanted. Zelda rested her chin upon her hand. "Do I believe…well I haven't ruled anything out for certain."

"You can feel it, can't you? Something about Greendale."

"Yes, it always has a sense of, oh I don't know, magic in the air."

"Yes." Ms. Wardwell nodded in agreement. Zelda noticed she was leaning forward in her seat.

"What was it that brought you to revere witchcraft in such a way?"

"A book. I happened upon a History of Witches in my college library and was riveted to find Greendale mentioned. I researched all I could, finding books on the occult in bookstores around my college campus. I read in private – it was a Catholic school after all – but I became entranced by the history of it, the ritual."

"You never…you didn't happen to know any witches, did you?" Zelda asked, reaching for her wine glass, but finding it empty. Ms. Wardwell smiled and refreshed her glass.

"Have I known a witch?" Ms. Wardwell asked, as if she might stall her response. "Hm, not that I've known for certain was a witch."

Zelda nodded.

"And you? Have you known a witch? I assumed you grew up here. You must know all about the town's past."

How very much she did know. But how to answer her? To answer her honestly and then reverse her memory so that she would forget the conversation? Or answer untruthfully? She chose the middle path. "How can anyone be certain. Besides, isn't it all nonsense, anyway?"

Ms. Wardwell's lips twitched up into a bashful smile, as if she had been scolded for delving too deep. "Yes, yes. I suppose it might be."

Zelda felt a worrisome weight lift from her chest. She needed a cigarette. The meal had been delicious, her dinner companion even more delightful. To know that the woman regarded witches in such a positive light had altered her perception further. She found herself warming to Ms. Wardwell.

"Shall I go and fetch dessert?"

They retired to sit before the fireplace, facing one another with tea and baked apples upon plates, the uncomfortable awkwardness having faded away into something else. "Ms. Wardwell?"

"Oh, please. Call me Mary."

Zelda laughed, for how ridiculous it was for her to continue on with such a formality. "Of course. Mary then. You haven't…noticed anything different with Sabrina, have you?"

"Sabrina?" Mary considered this. "Apart from her hair?"

Zelda laughed, having forgotten that the once serene yellow blonde had turned to white. "Yes, there is that. But do you think…you think she is okay?"

"What are you concerned about?" Mary caught her eye; a look of concern covered her features and Zelda wondered if something about her own face had caused Mary to look this way.

"Well, a lot has happened to her recently and I sometimes think she might…feel like she needs to take on more responsibility then she has to. She's so young."

Mary smiled. "You care deeply about her."

Zelda nodded, her heart pounding. For loving Sabrina as she did made her feel a certain kind of weakness. "I do."

"I haven't noticed anything recently, though if I do I'll be certain to let you know. She's very smart, very advanced for her age."

"She is. She is." Zelda agreed. "I feel responsible for her."

"You've done a wonderful job with her."

"Oh me, no. Certainly Hilda has helped form her into the kind, caring girl that she is, but me…no, I just brought her up with a good sense of morality and that's about all I can take credit for."

"I'm sure that's not true."

"Even you have had a more profound influence on her than I."

Mary's cheeks colored. "Though I am loathed to admit it, I can certainly say that she is one of my favorite pupils. But I don't think…certainly I cannot take any credit for who she is."

"I think you underestimate yourself. You don't give yourself near enough credit for what you're capable of." Zelda had a sense about the woman before her.

Mary bowed her head. "I don't think you know me well enough yet."

"Maybe so." But it was something Zelda could sense inside of the other woman, some hidden depth that was waiting to be brought forward, be made known. She had seen it in the depths of Lilith. Zelda drank the last of her tea, watching Mary's profile as she took in the burning flames before them. She was a strikingly gorgeous woman.

_Oh Lilith_, _what is it that I'm doing here?_

There had been women who had tempted and tantalized Zelda before. Of course, there had been in her millennia of years on this earth. She was not prudish to such practices, but she had never been taken in by a mere mortal woman. It would have been too dangerous before now.

But this was a new world.

But perhaps she had misread the air swirling between them. The sweet, floral air with a hint of pheromones. Or was Mary only being kind? It could be so hard to tell in such situations and Zelda had never been good at making herself vulnerable to finding out if her hunch might be true.

"It's been a lovely evening, Mary." Zelda smiled at her hostess.

Mary was stirred from her easy reverie, glancing to her clock, eyes widening. "Oh, yes. It is rather late, isn't it?"

"I don't want to outstay my welcome."

"You're not, but I'm certain you need to get home."

Zelda eyed Mary curiously. "I don't need to, but perhaps I should. Thank you for the wonderful dinner."

"You're welcome anytime you'd like. I…enjoyed your company." Mary smiled, following Zelda to the door, helping her into her coat.

"As I yours." Zelda turned to look at her.

They smiled at one another, uncertain how to leave the evening for now they were awkwardly standing before one another. It was finally Zelda who stepped forward and pressed her red lips to Mary's cheek, smelling that gentle perfume which clung to her dark hair.

Mary's eyes were closed when Zelda stepped back.


	3. Chapter 3

"Where are you going, Auntie Zee?" Sabrina asked after having breezed into the kitchen, snatching up an apple, and then stopping dead in her track to take in her aunt.

"Hmm?" Zelda hummed as she finished touching up her lipstick, snapping her compact mirror closed. "Out."

"Just out, or out, out? Who's the lucky guy."

Zelda laughed, "there is no _guy_."

"Uh huh." Sabrina's eyebrow rose in disbelief.

"And what are you doing this evening? Hopefully not trying to summon the Underworld." Zelda deflected.

"First of all, Auntie, you didn't answer my question. Second of all, I'm going downtown to meet my friends."

Zelda squinted her eyes at Sabrina, trying to read what it was that she might actually be doing, but the young witch only beamed brighter, her smile widening.

"Well, whatever you're doing, or _whomever_ you're doing, I hope you have a good night, Auntie."

"I think you have the wrong idea, Sabrina." Zelda called after the young woman's retreating form. Hell only knew what Sabrina would think if she knew the truth of the evening; what it was she was really about to do.

A little thrill shot through her spine even though _she_ didn't even know what it was that she was doing. She had called the remaining coven for a meeting only the evening before. After Hilda's encouragement, she had gathered the coven together to reassure them that things would continue on for the time being, that they were in capable hands with her – whether or not she believed that was beside the point – and not to worry about the future of the church. She, as momentary High Priestess, would steer the ship until the Underworld's will was revealed to her and she would make certain to protect those around her from harm. She reassured them that Prudence and Ambrose were on the hunt for Blackwood and they would keep him from harming the coven further.

There had been mass relief upon these announcements, the order restored for the time being. Zelda felt a powerful sense of control – despite all the unknown variables dangling about – and so she had thrilled at the prospect of another evening spent with the innocent Mary Wardwell as a sort of consolation prize.

There had been three other meetings since their first and it seemed as if they had fallen into some kind of routine. Zelda had called three days after their first dinner and had sheepishly invited Mary to a restaurant in a town over. Two days later Mary invited Zelda to her home again. Zelda had called again and they had met for a movie at the downtown theatre – thankfully they had not run into any of those infernal teenagers in town, having chosen a midday Sunday showing.

Zelda was now on her way to dine again at Mary's, for despite their platonic friendship, they both delighted in the privacy of their bond. Even Hilda did not know of their newly forged relationship, for she had Dr. Cee to care for and spent as much of her spare time with him. So it was easy for Zelda to sneak away. It was only Sabrina's accusing tone that made Zelda feel as if she might be doing something wrong.

But that was preposterous. What it was she did with Mary was nothing more than female friendship. Simple, unadulterated.

Mary was in a simple blue dress when she opened the door, those curiously bright eyes looked bashfully out at Zelda until Zelda smiled and leaned in to press her lip to Mary's cheek – as had become customary.

"The roast is almost ready, I have a bottle of wine open." Mary announced, leading Zelda inside, handing her a glass.

Their relations had become more familiar and Zelda delighted in the easy feeling of it.

They settled into the evening nicely, delighting in mindless chatter over dinner – for Mary was grateful to have an adult to converse with and Zelda was grateful to have someone whom was removed from her current seat of power.

They retired to the chair before the fire, Zelda noticed an ashtray put out beside her seat and she stared curiously at Mary.

"I thought you might want to enjoy your cigarette instead of uneasily sitting there with your hand shaking after we eat."

"How did you…but it isn't something I _need_ to do." Zelda deflected from her hallowed cravings. Cigarettes were picked up at the turn of the century in France in the red light district.

"Oh please, if you're not careful I might just join you. Though it's been awhile." Mary's eyes flashed mischievously.

"I'd certainly love to see that." Zelda smirked, lighting up a cigarette and settling back into that surprisingly comfortable tall backed chair.

Mary watched her. The two of them regarded one another.

"You're so lovely." Zelda happened to speak – as if without thought for what it was she had said – and she watched as Mary's head dipped at the compliment. She wasn't sure if it was the good food or the nicotine that had caused the words to slip from her mouth. "Why is it that you should live here alone?"

Mary took a deep breath, "ah, well…I wasn't always alone. I had a…uh, well a fiancé. Adam." She smiled distantly. "They only recently informed me – they, the Doctors Without Borders – that he…died. In Tibet. Some rare infectious disease consumed him and he only had seconds once it overtook him."

Zelda's brow furrowed. "Mary, I…I had no idea…I'm so very sorry." And she hated herself for a moment for she felt envious of this dead Adam.

"No, no. Don't pity me." Mary shook her head.

"But you were engaged to marry him; that had to be quite a shock."

Mary shrugged and sipped her wine. "I hadn't seen him for months…he…he left. After asking me to go with him. But I didn't want…I couldn't leave."

Zelda frowned. "Couldn't?"

Mary caught her eyes. Tears were lingering in those pools of blue and Zelda felt her dark heart beating just a bit faster. "Oh, it sounds terrible. I know. He was a wonderful man. So very kind, carrying, sensitive to my needs. I didn't want children – I have so many at the school and it was never something I dreamt of – and he agreed for me. He wanted me to come with him so badly, but there was something…"

"Missing?" Zelda ventured.

Mary's rosy pink lips pressed tightly together, as if unable to actually verbalize those words.

"He sounds like quite a man."

"He was and I should have…I should have _wanted _to go with him." She laughed self-deprecatingly. "It's not as if I'm getting any younger…I couldn't have asked for someone better and yet…"

"Well, in my years on this earth I've come to find that it doesn't pay to be with someone just because it _should_ be right." She should know after her own idiocy when it came to Blackwood. Though she did hold the reigning title now…for that she could be thankful. And why…why was it that she should be able to give Mary these words of advice? She had never been one to console anyone about their love life.

"What about you?" Mary wiped at her eyes. "You're a striking woman, I should think you would have any number of suitors." Mary spoke the words bashfully, as if ashamed to be saying them.

Zelda felt her chest warm at the comment. "I'm not one for love. It's never interested me."

Mary's brow furrowed now. "But certainly you've had someone."

Zelda laughed, "of course there have been many someones, but not one whom I found any sort of lasting love relationship with. I don't think it's in my wheelhouse to love."

"You love Sabrina and your sister Hilda."

"Of course, that's filial. It's something deeper. But true love…no, not something I've ever believed in."

Mary considered this for a moment, sipping her wine and staring into the fire again. "I don't know if I have either. Perhaps…perhaps once, but it wasn't what I thought it was."

Zelda stared at her through a cloud of smoke. It seemed there was more to this story than the dark-haired woman was willing to tell in the moment. And as if to try and dissuade this line of conversation further, Mary turned to Zelda with a shy smile playing on her lips.

* * *

The dreams started sometime after that evening.

Zelda had always been one for dastardly disturbing dreams, but these were the most vivid she'd had in millennia. She even awoke with the bitemarks and bruises to prove it.

It always began in the same place. Mary Wardwell's living room.

Always the same theme followed, but apart from the location the dream varied in content.

This evening everything was darkened, misty, Mary appearing as Lilith had, hair down, lips bright red, eyes burning as if two blue lasers, her body encased in some wickedly tight black corset. Her long, lean legs standing strong, a riding crop in hand.

Zelda could see herself seated in the chair by the fireplace, naked before Mary. Naked and wanting, yet frightened by the look in those piercingly blue eyes. They were relentless, hungry. And Zelda was fearful of her, yet shuddered in deep anticipation.

"What is it that you want, Zelda?" With one flick of the wrist, the riding crop snapped against the ground. Zelda jumped in her seat, heart pounding.

Then Mary was before her, straddling her, pining her to the chair. Her manicured hand grasped Zelda's chin, red fingernails sinking into skin where she clasped. Zelda whimpered.

"What do you want?"

Zelda opened her mouth but found that she'd lost her voice.

"Why won't you speak?" Mary's hand was removed from her chin and collided with a slap against Zelda's cheek. Zelda's eyes watered from the pain, her body twisting to get closer to Mary.

She opened her mouth to try again but found herself speechless, as if she'd been bewitched.

Mary's stern look dissolved into a wicked smile. "Ah, that's right. You can't speak, can you? Serves you right, doesn't it?" She stood, removing her warm body from Zelda and Zelda wanted to whimper in protest but no sound came forth. "You've never been good at asking for what you truly wanted so why should now be any different?"

Zelda shook her head, wanting to move yet finding that her body was stuck to the chair.

"Is this what you want?" Mary flipped her wrist and suddenly Zelda was staring down at a pristinely white bed on her hands and knees. There was a sharp slap to her ass, Mary's hand resting against her stinging skin, nails sinking into flesh, drawing blood. She felt the other woman's body flank her side, that holy honeysuckle and rose scent of the other woman's hair pressing against her cheek. "You like to be tortured and tormented?" Mary whispered against her ear and Zelda pressed wantonly back against her hand.

Mary struck her again, sinking her teeth into her neck.

Zelda turned to try and see this temptress. But as turned to seek those luminous eyes, the woman vanished.

"Zelda? Zels?" Someone was shaking her.

The dark room disappeared. The room which she shared with Hilda swirled to life, collided with her dream.

"Zelda, you're bleeding." Hilda's concerned eyes appeared above her.

Zelda hummed, finding that she still had a voice. What was it that was happening? Where had Mary vanished off to? Had that been a message from Lilith? Had that been Lilith?

Hilda returned to her side with some homemade salve and a towel, beginning to tend to the wound on her neck. "What is happening to you?" Hilda whispered quietly as she tended to her sister.

Zelda's cheeks blazed with the sudden recollection of the dream. How could she explain to Hilda that she was lusting over Mary Wardwell? Or was it that she was in search of Lilith for answers? What did these dreams mean and why did they have to leave marks?

Hilda closed her eyes, incanting a healing spell and Zelda felt her stinging skin healing itself back together.

"Not to worry, Hilda. Only some feverish nightmares." Zelda assured her worried sister, her throat hoarse and dry feeling as she spoke.

"Has she come to you?" Hilda looked sadly down upon her sister and Zelda resented her pity. She was not some weak creature who couldn't handle a few nightmares. A few delicious nightmares.

Zelda shook her head. No, these could not possibly be signs from Lilith. Could they?


	4. Chapter 4

It wasn't that she had been avoiding her.

No, it was that the coven needed her. There had been word from Ambrose, who had astral projected to them to relay the news that they were on Father Blackwood's trail and that they were safe for the time being. There had been covenant meetings, people wanting to know what it was that they should be doing, what the rules and laws would be going forward and Zelda felt that she needed to lay out the new law, yet she had still not heard word from Lilith as to what it was that they _should_do going forward.

She and Hilda had helped to reorganize the academy and begin classes again. There was so much to do, getting the teachers back on board, and reassuring the females that they could take whichever classes they wished.

It had been exhausting, this work, this leadership that Zelda had always dreamt of and had finally stumbled upon, if only because she had gone through with the marriage to Father Blackwood. How insufferable those days had been. Playing the damned housewife had never been Zelda's ideal.

But it had been worth it, for she was here now. The High Priestess of the coven.

And yet, she felt even less in control than she had before. Every chance she got she sought some kind of escape, some way out of so many needing and relying on her. Her dreams of Mary in the night had been her only release – though her visits left Zelda wanting and hurt. And she longed for a peaceful night of sleep, longed to have Mary Wardwell and Lilith far from her mind, if only for one night.

So that as she lay soaking in a rose scented bath, washing away the soreness of her tired, bruised body – she did not suspect that she might happen upon Mary Wardwell in the flesh that very evening.

The doorbell rang somewhere downstairs and Zelda closed her eyes, sinking further into the tub. Someone else would get the door, wouldn't they? Sabrina was home, Hilda had been shuffling about in the kitchen. Certainly, she didn't need to be present to answer the door. Had they been expecting someone?

There were words exchanged in the foyer and then footsteps came thumping up the stairs, coming to rest right outside the bathroom door. "Auntie Zee?" Sabrina was knocking on the bathroom door.

"What is it?" Zelda's eyes flashed open.

"Ms. Wardwell is here for dinner. We're waiting for you." Sabrina called through the door.

"When the bloody Heavens did you invite her?"

"I told you about it last week." Sabrina huffed.

Zelda did not remember this, though it was no surprise given all that she had to remember nowadays. But suddenly it dawned on her that Mary Wardwell was here….in her home. Only a floor away. And she was naked in the tub.

"I'll be down in a minute." Zelda called back and rubbed her forehead. Pulling her hand away she noticed rope burns on her wrists. What had she been dreaming about the previous night?

* * *

She prayed to Lilith (for Satan was quite out of the question now) that neither Hilda nor Sabrina would notice the way her back stiffened when she rounded the corner and came face-to-face with Mary Wardwell.

The woman turned to her just as she stepped into the kitchen, so that they were immediately thrust into one another's space. Zelda could feel Hilda looking at her curiously. For here was Mary Wardwell before her. Not dressed as Lilith would be, yet those eyes…that body encased in those dowdy school clothes…Zelda had seen her countless times in the night and…now she was face-to-face with reality and it made her inhale sharply.

Mary shuffled uncomfortably, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear, adjusting her glasses. It was Zelda's impulse to lean in and kiss her cheek, but the way in which Hilda was watching her made it seem the inappropriate choice. And it also seemed as if Mary expected her to kiss her, yet also realized that they were under scrutiny so that she awkwardly shifted again.

Zelda was tempted to roll her eyes but refrained and smiled cordially at Mary. "Ms. Wardwell, so lovely of you to join us."

Zelda did not miss the pained look that crossed Mary's face before she caught herself and returned Zelda's smile. "It's so nice of you to have me, Ms. Spellman."

Zelda took the jab.

"Dinner's ready, my loves." Hilda announced, breaking the awkward moment between women. Hilda stared curiously at Zelda when Mary turned to assemble at the table. Zelda rolled her eyes and took her seat at the head of the table.

She might have drunk more than she ate that evening. There was something about Mary's piercing blue eyes – hidden behind her glasses as they were – that kept distracting her from having any sort of appetite. The heat that rose from her center was stifling, the collar of her dress feeling too tight about her neck. She couldn't meet Mary's eyes throughout most of the dinner for every time they happened to collide she'd flush all over and knowing her sister, Hilda would notice this change in her and would make it a point to say something later and Zelda very much did not want to explain herself to anyone.

After dinner they all retired to the living room for tea, only Zelda wanted a cigarette and Hilda banished her outside since they had a guest over and so she sat in the dark, cigarette in holder, blowing smoke rings to the constellations in the silent, chilly night. And perhaps this was better than being inside with Mary so very near to her.

Why had Sabrina asked Mary over? Why must she always go out of her way to addle and disturb Zelda's perfectly kept world. Before Sabrina Zelda had understood the world. After Sabrina, everything came crashing down around her. There had been sixteen restful years and now this…the world spun on its head, everything upside down and out of order and she couldn't very well even think "Praise Satan" anymore because Satan had turned out to be one hell of a letdown.

"Did I upset you?"

The voice startled Zelda and she turned to find Mary Wardwell standing on the front porch beside her, wrapped in her coat, purse on her arm, ready to leave.

Had she upset her? Certainly not. Mary had been nothing but kind to her and it seemed that it was _she_who had done the upsetting.

"No." She exhaled the word in a cloud of smoke. "No, not at all."

"What's all of this 'Ms. Wardwell' nonsense? And you could barely look at me during dinner."

"I…I didn't mean anything by it." Zelda flicked ash from her skirt.

"Did I do something?" Mary's small, meek voice sounded so pathetic in her attempt to figure it out and Zelda felt terrible for she couldn't very well tell Mary that she'd been having dreams of her doing unspeakable things to her body. Mary wasn't the type to do such things. In fact, she looked nearly virginly the way in which she carried herself. So unlike Lilith.

"You did _nothing_, Mary. It's me." Zelda sighed, looking at the strikingly glorious woman before her, the moonlight dancing off her dark hair, all knotted high at the top of her head.

"What do you mean?" A tension about Mary's rigid body released and she swayed against the porch rail.

"I can't…I don't think it would make any sense to you." Zelda tapped her cigarette on the edge of the chair. She motioned for Mary to join her in the seat near to her. Mary obliged.

Zelda lifted the cigarette to her lips again, staring out into the vast spans of her front yard. The graveyard looked beautiful in the moonlight. "You asked me if I believed in witches."

Mary's body stiffened.

Zelda turned to her. "I do. I do believe."

"I believe so as well." Mary conceded.

Zelda's eyebrow rose at her. "Do you?"

Mary nodded, reaching towards Zelda's hand to take the cigarette from the holder. Zelda watched as she drew smoke into her lungs as if she had smoked a thousand times before and exhaled a stream of smoke from between perfect pink lips.

"Are you afraid of them?" Zelda asked, realizing that only moments before her lips had touched that cigarette.

Mary turned and took Zelda's fingers between her own, merely to put the cigarette back in its rightful place, but she was so warm, her hand soft, that it made Zelda inhale sharply. And instead of dropping Zelda's hand once the cigarette was back in its holder, she moved ever closer, her eyes on Zelda's wrist. "What in the world happened to you?"

"Oh," Zelda had forgotten the marks that she had kept concealed from Hilda. She didn't want her sister to know how often the dreams came. She had attempted to heal them herself, but to no avail. "It's nothing." Zelda pulled her hand away from Mary's caring embrace, shoving her sleeves down further.

Mary was not about to take this as an explanation though. "Is someone hurting you?"

Zelda shook her head. How to explain? How to tell this woman that it was she, herself who haunted her in the night and hurt her. How would she react to that? "It's not what it seems. It's something I…"

Mary's eyes grew wide behind her glasses. "You enjoy that…sort of thing?"

Zelda felt her cheeks go bright red and she thanked the darkness around them for hopefully Mary could not see. Her sexual proclivities had never embarrassed her before, though she could only imagine what they might seem to a mortal. And often she wondered if some of them came from the idea that being hurt and abused was something normal, something that women bore from careless lovers. "Perhaps."

"It looks painful."

"It is." Zelda looked at her again. "You didn't answer my question."

"Well you're hardly answering mine." Mary laughed.

"I'm curious to know if you are afraid of witches or not."

"Why don't you read my mind and find out just what it is I think of witches." Mary took off her glasses, rubbing at the bridge of her nose as if irritated.

"Well I could, but it seems utterly intrusive."

Mary put her glasses back on and grinned at Zelda. "So you are a witch then."

"Well…" Zelda had dug herself into this corner. And yet Mary was smiling at her. "So you're not afraid then?"

"Not at all."

"But how did you…"

"Oh come now, Zelda _Spellman_. Director of the town mortuary. I mean it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out."

"You did say you had studied the history…our history."

Mary tilted her head, smiling at Zelda in that curiously comfortable way that they had established over the course of the last few weeks. How lovely she was and how astute. A mortal who knew of their witchcraft and who was not afraid. Or so it seemed she was not afraid. Might she somehow still be possessed by Lilith? For what had given her this keen sense for witches?

"I should be going. I have classes in the morning." Mary adjusted her purse on her shoulder and stood from the chair beside Zelda.

And Zelda didn't want her to go. No, she wanted to kiss her, to taste those rosy lips.

And she licked her lips as if in anticipation and then realized that kissing Mary Wardwell was only a dream occurrence and not a part of their normal relations. So that instead she stayed seated, watching Mary go. "When can I see you again?" Zelda managed before Mary could slip away into the night.

"I'm free the day after tomorrow. Might you join me for dinner?"

Zelda affirmed with the nod of her head and a contented smile on her lips. She watched every step Mary took to her car and watched it until it disappeared on the dirt road before her.

What was this madness? Shouldn't she be guarding herself – her heart for that matter – for now she was stepping into a powerful position and this woman, this maybe mortal was distracting her.

Yet, she wanted this distraction. She wanted to know this woman who was so kind and pure and chaste. Who maybe wouldn't hurt her as she had been hurt.

But the instant the thought crossed her mind she felt a sharp pain shoot through her chest. What folly, to believe in such a thing as romantic love.

It would never work. Not she and a mere mortal. No, she needed to keep her guard up. Especially now.


	5. Chapter 5

The dream was dreadfully vivid that evening. Deeper, further than it had ever gone before.

She was stretched out on a wheel of torture, legs spread uncomfortably wide, arms quivering above her head, her stomach stinging from having been whipped. She could taste her own salty tears, could see Mary or Lilith or Madam Satan or whoever this she-devil was standing before her with that devious look on her face.

She could bare it no more. "What do you want from me?" She cried, her voice hoarse and broken from having been nearly strangled only moments before.

Mary's eyes sparkled at this question. "Ah! Have I broken you yet?"

"Who are you?" Zelda panted, trying to free her swollen wrists but finding the restraints too tight.

Mary moved closer to her, that sheer black lace encasing her body was, upon further inspection, rather transparent. Zelda could make out the hardened peaks of dark-toned nipples. She could see a patch of dark hair at the apex of Mary's legs. She twisted her body in exquisite agony but couldn't bring her legs together to clinch her own arousal. It dripped down her thigh. Her nipples hardened further.

Mary came closer. Close enough that she could inhale her deathly delightful scent of dead roses and night-blooming jasmine. Zelda could feel her breath against her collarbone: cool, gentle.

A hand flicked at her nipple and she flinched. "You want to know who I am?"

Zelda nodded her head, her neck rolling back against the wheel as Mary's lips came closer to her neck, yet only lingered, not biting nor sucking, just simply breathed against her. Zelda whimpered, thrusting forward for any kind of contact but finding none.

"What is it that you want?" Mary whispered against her ear.

What did she want?

"Say it, Zelda." Mary breathed, her hand smacking the wood beside Zelda's head, her long dark hair tickling her shoulders, making her wild.

But Zelda could only exhale, wrists twisting in agony above her for she wanted to sink her hands into Mary's hair, pull her closer... "You." She choked out and Mary stood back from her.

"No, Zelda. You want so much more."

Zelda frowned, flummoxed by this apparition. What did she want from her? Why must she torture her so?

"Please." Zelda panted.

"What have you always wanted?" Mary flicked her shin with the riding crop and Zelda hissed in pain. "Come on, it's not so hard. Just say it." And without giving her a chance to comply she flicked her nipple again with the end of the leather, gentle at first and then harder the next time.

"Why are you tor-torturing me?" Zelda spat.

"You are the High Priestess, are you not?"

Zelda looked again at the woman before her. She was decidedly not Mary Wardwell. "Lilith?"

"Speak the words of your want and so it shall be." The temptress' eyes glowed, ignoring Zelda's question.

What did she want her to say?!

"Oh, come now..." Mary's gentle voice spoke through this demon. "What is it that you've wanted since you were a child?" She walked closer, one hand pressing against the wood at Zelda's side. "Think about it. What you always imagined."

Mary's free hand came to clasp about Zelda's throat so that she had to sputter out the words that came next, "p-power."

"Yes." Mary nodded.

"To rule. To sit in the highest seat of honor. To be revered."

"Yes." The dark-haired woman released her choke-hold, her hand tangling in Zelda's hair. "Claim that power. You can have anything you want; you only need to say the words. Nothing is holding you back." Mary whispered to her, and just as Zelda thought the woman might sink her teeth into the crook of her neck, she felt light, feathery lips press a delicate kiss to her sweaty skin.

"Oh." Zelda murmured for the care and caution with which this demon was taunting her was so unlike anything they had done in the past few nights. This was a different sensation, her tongue like ice on her warm skin, cooling her.

And then something was pressing between her legs. Though it made no sense, for Mary's hands were in her hair, pulling her neck to the side to access her skin further, but she knew it was a part of this woman before her. It throbbed against her and she wanted it, wanted it so badly, wanted to pull Mary to her, thread her fingers in her hair and guide her gentle mouth where she willed and suddenly she realized that she could do just that. She had free reign of her wrists and her hands and her fingers glided into that dark mass of hair and it was as soft as she imagined it to be. Mary's lips thrilled her, the world tilting so that Zelda's freed legs might wrap about Mary's body and then she felt a powerful force enter her.

It was unlike anything she had felt before, a jolt of strong, dark magic reverberated inside of her and Mary's blue eyes peered down at her, regarded her as their bodies moved together. Zelda felt lost in those eyes. She could see everything and nothing. All that had come before, blackness to now, arts and cultures and civilizations rising and crumbling before her eyes...she was on the edge of the entire universe, the world, her entire life flashing before her until there was nothing more to see and then she was falling, bowled over by the strongest, most erotic climax she had ever had. It shattered her from the inside out, she thought she might just die right then and there. _La petit mort_.

And as she reached for Mary, to find her there with her in the moment, to have any sort of contact in that frightening, earth shattering moment…she realized that she was completely alone. And suddenly there was a bright, blinding light that rose in her eyes and she had to fall back, to shield her eyes from the strength of it. And she was so exposed there in the light. What the hell was this light? Where had Mary gone?

And then _she _appeared.

She was young, nubile, strikingly gorgeous, scarcely a day older than Sabrina, her skin flawless, like porcelain, her hair long and dark. She was shrouded in red, her body long and sleek and strong. She looked nothing at all like Mary Wardwell.

"Lilith?" Zelda felt exposed, frightened, sore. She tried to cover herself, her body still floating as if on a cloud.

"Yes, it is I in my true form." Her voice was strong, powerful. It reverberated off the space surrounding them.

"Wh-what..."

"I am certain you have many questions. As you are the closest to a ruler on earth you must understand that I had to test you, to find your inner strength, your inner power. You are drawn to Mary Wardwell though she is a mortal. This does not yet make sense to you." Lilith glowed before her, her words swirling around, not yet making any sense for Zelda's insides were throbbing, her legs shaky, her body so uncertain.

And Zelda found herself speechless in her presence. What did any of this mean?

"You wonder what is meant by this appearance and why it is that I have put you through so many nights and days of agony. But it is to prepare you. You've always had this strength inside of you, Zelda. It has only ever been waiting to come to life." Lilith came to her, placed her hands lovingly upon the bruises and scars that littered Zelda's body. "Don't you think that every great leader who has come before you has been tested and put through trials? So many of these men who have come before have failed to understand, however, the one power that women have above all else. The one thing that they will never possess." Lilith's touch evoked a warmth that made Zelda's tired body come to life again.

What was it? And why could women not rule before now? Why had men always dominated and pushed women to the side?

"It's our ability to love as women."

Zelda felt as if she were burned. Love! Love, no that was certainly not it. Love was weak.

"That's the problem, Zelda. You see it as a weakness. But if you are to rule this coven, if you are to spread the greatness of the Night you will need to do it through love. You have always been wary of mortals, but you are coming to find that they are more cunning and clever than you could have ever imagined." Lilith stood from Zelda's repaired body. "I inhabited Mary Wardwell and I found her to be so much more than I expected her to be. More than I could have ever imagined. I trust that though she is a mortal, she can help you."

"But mortals are weak. They die. They hunt us. They hurt us." Zelda protested, having been taught year after year of the dangers of mortals. It was only recently, when Edward had taken a mortal wife, that she had begun to see them any differently. Edward had loved a mortal. Could it be possible? But they were weak…they did easier. They would not last for millennia as Zelda had. Mary would not live for millennia…

"Only if they don't understand. You, you must teach them."

"H-how?" Zelda felt an immense pressure come to rest upon her shoulders.

"You will know in time. You have gone through the first trial. You have earned your voice. Do not lose it now."

Zelda shrunk back, overwhelmed by this holy vision. "What-what of Lucifer? What of Nicholas...Sabrina thinks she can save him."

"She has tried but has been unsuccessful. It will take more skill than she has now. Lucifer has not freed himself but it is only a matter of time. We must rise stronger than him. That is why I need you."

"Need me to do what?" Zelda grabbled with the request for there was so much unanswered, so much unknown!

Lilith smiled and just as the vision came it disappeared and Zelda's eyes flashed wide open and she found herself floating high above her bed, arms outstretched, head flung back, left leg dangling downwards, like Christ on a cross, naked. The light of dawn shone brightly through the curtains, as if illuminating her.

Her insides felt twisted, her sex sore and torn, she could feel blood on her thigh as if she had birthed something. She was frightened, confused, and in pain…yet she felt so very strong. As if something has possessed her, left its mark on her.

She had been visited. Lilith had come to her. Glorious, young Lilith who would rule the Underworld in due time.

But what was it that she wanted of Zelda?

What did Mary Wardwell have to do with anything?

She felt her body slacken and she fell to the bed, landing with a thump on the mattress. She couldn't move. Though Lilith had healed her outward wounds she still was wrecked on the inside.

Moments later Hilda came flying into the room in an apron. "What was that noise…oh…oh, Zelda. Zelda, my love. What has happened to you?" She came closer, looking Zelda over, noticing the blood, the frozen state of her body. "Oh, my love, my darling. What are you going through?" Her voice was a whisper and Zelda clinched her eyes shut, for when Hilda spoke like this she knew it was bad. She hated lying to her, she hated keeping things from her.

"She came…Lilith…came to me."


	6. Chapter 6

She was uneasy before Mary.

Mary looked nothing, _nothing_like her apparition had, like Lilith had…her lips bare, her face devoid of make-up, her hair done-up atop her head, eyes hidden behind glasses. And yet Zelda wanted to run from her.

Instead she awkwardly smiled, her body stiffening when Mary moved ever so slightly closer to her so as to kiss the air beside her cheek. That sweet smell of honeysuckle overpowered her. She kissed Mary's cheek in return. But then stepped away from her, moving into the cottage.

She should not have come. Not feeling the way she felt, so mixed up and confused and hurt. She could barely sit down.

"Would you like a drink?" Mary questioned, those her eyes were watching, following Zelda's every movement, her every emotion. "You don't look well."

"Hmm." Zelda muttered, lowering herself into the chair beside the fireplace.

"Zelda, what's the matter?" Mary was beside her at once, kneeling before her.

Zelda shook her head, not wanting to take Mary's pity. No, she was too proud for that. "It's nothing." She placed her hands over Mary's atop her lap. "It's nothing to worry over."

"You're pale." The concerned lines etched in Mary's forehead only deepened.

_Stop!_Zelda wanted to yell, to scream, but instead she felt Mary take her hands in her own, holding them tightly.

"You…you offered me a drink." Zelda tried to detract, to take her away from her looking all concerned like a little puppy dog.

"Should you be drinking?" Mary only stayed put.

"I am perfectly alright. Nothing a little whiskey couldn't cure." Zelda leaned forward, tried to reassure Mary that all was well, nothing was wrong, and couldn't they get on with their evening? Why must Mary look so concerned for her?

Mary looked as if she might speak but then collected herself up and went to a cabinet in the corner of the room. She lifted a bottle of amber liquid and poured two tumblers full. She returned to Zelda, holding one out for her and Zelda took it, relieved. She drank back a rough sip of it, her eyes burning as she swallowed. It was strong.

Mary sighed, "won't you tell me what it is? What has happened to you?"

Zelda ran her finger delicately about the rim of her glass. "I would tell you but it might only hurt you and it is a rather long story. So much…so much has happened." Zelda whispered, putting the glass to her lips to drink again. She found herself at the bottom of the glass.

Mary held out her own undrunk glass and took the empty one from Zelda. "I don't think drinking will make it any better."

"Perhaps not, but it's certainly better than the hell I've been going through recently."

Mary turned from her to place the empty tumbler on the bar. "Is it because of me?" Mary whispered, fragile, back still to Zelda.

"You…you?" Zelda racked her brain. It had all begun with Mary. Running into her so precariously as they had. So quite accidentally. Certainly, it had not been preordained to come to pass. Not like this. Could it have been? But the events before, when Mary had been Lilith…was it meant to now bring them together?

Mary turned back to Zelda, so concerned, so uncertain.

Zelda shook her head. "No. No, it couldn't have been because of you…"

"I lost track of so much time, I'm not sure…I don't know what happened, what I've done..." Mary stood beside her own chair. So distant from Zelda.

Zelda felt tears sting her eyes for Mary truly did not know how she had been used as a puppet.

"There's…there's something that I noticed the other day and I can't explain it. I don't know what it means or how it happened." Mary spoke softly, eyes not lifting from the floor before her. "I'm not sure if you might be able to explain it…perhaps you might…but it's very, unsightly. Embarrassing really."

"What is it?" Zelda felt her heart pounding, concern for the woman's safety. "Show me."

Mary coyly moved from behind the chair. "I found it while bathing a few weeks ago. I had so much pain and I didn't know why."

"Let me see." Zelda sat her tumbler down, motioning for Mary to move closer to her. And the woman did. But she couldn't look at Zelda. Not as she unzipped her skirt, unbuttoned her shirt (only half of the way). But Zelda could watch. Zelda found her puritanical motions intriguing, the way she hid her body as she slowly, slowly lifted her shirt to reveal a large gash right atop her rib. "Oh!" Zelda covered her mouth before instinctively reaching out, touching the scarred surface of soft, white skin. And she was no more a tantalizing siren, but a wounded woman.

"I have no idea how it happened…only that I awoke and nearly six months had gone by so I'm afraid that perhaps I…" Mary couldn't look down at Zelda while Zelda sat entranced by the cut. It was obvious her rib was missing. Some spell that Lilith had conjured, something unspeakable no-doubt. She'd used the mortal's body.

"May I?" Zelda looked up, searching Mary's eyes. Mary looked down at her, bewildered, frightened.

"You can…you can heal it?" Mary asked meekly.

"Yes, yes. Please let me." Zelda placed her hand on Mary's wrist, wanting her to know that what she was about to do would not harm her. Not in the least. Though it had been years since she had conjured up a healing spell (for Hilda was the natural healer of the two), the words were on her tongue, the power surged effortlessly through her hands. "It won't hurt, I promise." She gently squeezed her wrist and then pressed her hands to the wound, closing her eyes so that she could better focus. And slowly, slowly the wound began to twitch and moan and shift beneath her fingers. She held on, held on tight until all she could feel was smooth, gentle skin. No blemish, no flaw.

When she opened her eyes, she found Mary staring dumbstruck down at her. "You…you healed me."

Zelda fell back in the chair, her powers coursing strongly through her veins, stronger than she had ever felt them before. It exhausted her, this healing. Made her shattered womb clinch and cramp. "Yes."

"Oh, Zelda, are you alright?" Mary dropped before her again, bracing her with her arms, comforting her through the pain.

"Yes, yes. I'm alright." Zelda assured her, holding her away from her until the pain subsided and she fell back against the chair, her hands resting on Mary's shoulders. Mary looked up into her eyes. It felt like some erotic dance, some sappy romance that Zelda had never been fond of. To have Mary worry over her like this, to have felt so much, to have healed her.

This should not have intrigued her, yet it did.

"Why must you wear your hair like this?" Zelda's fingers moved to run over the perfect curl that settled near her ear.

"I'm quite used to it. It's…it's practical. For school." Mary defended herself half-heartedly. Neither noting nor caring that Mary's arms were about Zelda's waist and Zelda's hands were still touching Mary, without thought or care ripping into her curls, pulling out her pins, listening as they dropped to the floor in little percussive beats. One after another they fell until Mary's hair began to shift and move of its own accord and Zelda's fingers coaxed it into loose curls that framed Mary's face and made her look so very much as Lilith had.

"You're very beautiful." Zelda whispered, fingers trailing through those dark tresses. Flashes of the previous evening's dream came to her. The light, the feeling between her legs, the pain.

She pulled her hands away, covered her face, turning. Mary, embarrassed, removed her hands from Zelda. Zelda sensed her discomfort, her confusion and she didn't want her to feel it.

Mary shrunk back from Zelda.

"I'm sorry...it's..." Zelda felt ridiculous. What had she just done? Undone this woman before her and then pushed her away.

Mary righted herself, putting herself back together, dusting off her skirt, running her hands through her hair, pushing it away from her face, uncertain, shy.

"Mary..." Zelda started but stopped. She could not explain what had just transpired between them. She could not handle Mary's caring touch. It made her insides throb. "I shouldn't have come." She picked up the tumbler and polished off the last of the whiskey.

"But..." Mary stuttered, sheepishly moving to her own side of the room.

Zelda lit a cigarette and held it crassly between her fingers, leaning forward to hold her head in her hands. The room felt like it was spinning. Mary was running from her and wasn't it for the best?

"Are you hurt?" Mary inquired softly.

"I don't know." Zelda sighed. She didn't know what was wrong with her and she didn't want Mary to think she had anything to do with it. "Please, forgive me. I haven't...I haven't been sleeping well. I'm just tired." Zelda offered Mary a kind smile, a reassurance that what they had just shared was not horrible nor wrong. It was okay, more than okay.

Mary twisted her foot into the carpet. "Zelda, I'm...I'm glad you came tonight."

Zelda looked curiously at her. "Why...why?"

"You healed me. I've been so...so scared...I need to know what has happened and I think you can tell me."

And Zelda could tell her. But she didn't want to do it carelessly. She reached into her bag, extracting the large Unholy Bible. The coveted book that no mortal should ever be given, nor read.

But Sabrina had involved her mortal friends...surely Zelda could allow a mortal in. In fact, she had been told to do so. Mary was, supposedly, no ordinary mortal and there had to be traces of magic still inside of her. Zelda had just healed her...her own magic now marred the woman. "Take this. Take this and read it. Once you understand, once you know the true story then I will tell you what has happened these last few months. I will." Zelda stood and went to Mary, holding the book before her.

Mary reached out with shaky hands, uncertain. She touched the book and an electric current passed between then. Mary's eyes flashed to Zelda's, wide, worried.

"It won't hurt you." Zelda assured her. But I might.

Mary held the book as if it were a precious glass box.

"When you finish this then I will tell you everything."

Mary nodded in agreement, moving to set the book atop the table, still fearful of it. And as if needing to shift away from its gravity she spoke, "I've made...a roast, if you...still wanted..."

Zelda felt famished then, exhausted from this tense dance between them. "Yes, yes."

"Help yourself to another whiskey, I'll just..." Mary motioned to the kitchen and then disappeared around the corner, looking for the world like she needed a moment to breathe away from Zelda.

Zelda retreated to the bar, putting her cigarette between her lips so that she could pour another generous helping of the amber liquid.

They ate in relative silence. Mary's hair falling about her face. She almost looked as Lilith had. Only her glasses obscured her eyes, her lips still nude, a pale pink, her features sunken. Zelda wanted her all the more.

Her mind was beginning to fog from the whiskey. What was it that she had been instructed to do? Get closer to Mary? Let her in? Love her? But in which way?

This woman was undoubtedly a lesbian. A frustrated, fearful lesbian, a product of her time. Homosexuality ebbed and flowed in acceptability over the millennia and only recently it had reached a downslide in popularity and acceptance. Mary Wardwell was a curious creature who lived alone, taught at a school, had a fiancé she had never intended on marrying, was a woman of a certain age. All the markings were there, all the boxes perfectly ticked. And the way she regarded Zelda made her know, deep down that this had to be so.

Given this knowledge Zelda had to wonder if she was meant to love her then? Love her romantically... Would the new kingdom see a rise between two women? Was she intended to ascend to prominence with a woman, a mortal woman, at her side?

Her brother had loved a mortal. He had started the fissure in the religion.

Should this be the fruition of what he had begun? Oh, she wished she could speak to him now, if only to understand further. What had his manifesto stated? She needed to get her hands on it.

Mary twirled her hair absently across from her at the table. They had both finished their dinners but neither made a move to get up.

"I feel foolish." Mary whispered, hiding behind her hair.

Zelda perked up at this comment. "Why?"

"Perhaps I misunderstood...perhaps...Only...you've been so kind to me." Mary sunk lower into despair.

"What is it, Mary? What have you misunderstood?" Zelda rose on shaky legs from the table, moving around the surface clumsily, hand reaching out to steady herself against the wood as she went.

"What it is that we're doing..." Mary whispered.

And Zelda reached her side, pressed her hand against Mary's cheek, lifting her head to face her only to find a tear trailing down her cheek. "Why are you crying?"

Mary's cheeks blazed red. "I've never..." her eyes darted away but Zelda held her chin in place.

"But yet you've wanted to. For years and you've denied your flesh of what it so longs for." Zelda spoke the words that came up from Mary's hidden depths.

Mary gasped back her tears. "Please, don't humiliate me further."

"I would never." Zelda spoke firmly.

"You needn't...pity me..." Mary tried to pull back but Zelda held tight, felt her head clear as she leaned down to press her lips to Mary's salty cheek. A jolt of pleasurable pain shot through her chest and she collapsed back against the table, tangling her hands in Mary's hair, lips finding the curve of her chin, her neck, her other cheek and finally Mary turned into her. Zelda opened her eyes, meeting watery blues. Mary's breath ghosted against her lips, the air electric around them.

Zelda's eyes slid closed. She tilted her chin forwards. Their lips came ever closer to one another. And when they finally met, lips to lips, the lights about them flickered and Zelda's insides twisted so that she was forced away from Mary because the throbbing between her legs was too intense.

Mary stood then, trying to support Zelda yet also keeping her distance. "What was that?"

Zelda caught her breath and reached for Mary. "It would seem there is a powerful force connecting us." She watched the fear dance across Mary's features. "Oh, come now. It's good magic, it's...it won't hurt you."

Mary looked at her dubiously. "Then you...feel the same?"

Zelda consented with a nod, running her hand through Mary's hair. This poor, dear woman who had waited years to satiate her needs only to be lured in by a witch. "I should...I must go. I need to go." Zelda brought their entwined hands to her lips, twisting Mary's palms one at a time so that she could press a kiss to each of Mary's wrists. Mary exhaled shakily. This was a gesture Zelda had learned centuries ago from a romantic man who had courted her. The wrist had been the most sensual of all places to be kissed delicately.

She dropped Mary's hands gently, knowing that she could have taken things further but she couldn't stomach more than their shared kiss that evening. It had been revelatory, stronger than she could have imagined. Her body was weak and Mary would need time with this.

"Promise me you will read the book."

"I will." Mary murmured, looking as if she didn't want Zelda to leave at all yet also as if she needed to clear her mind, to better understand what it was that was happening.

"I'll come to you when you've finished. I'll tell you everything." Zelda promised, collecting up her possessions, moving away from the confused and dazed Mary Wardwell.

"You-you promise?" Mary's voice was so faint.

Zelda smiled, hand on the cottage door. She turned again, cupped Mary's cheek and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips once more. "I promise you."


	7. Chapter 7

The light of day filtered into her darkness. It had been a restful night. No dreams. No visits. No bruises. No pain. No Lilith. Nor Mary torturing her.

She had slept like the dead.

Her eyes came slowly, blearily open and she found the sun to be abnormally bright for morning. Perhaps it was no longer morning at all. She could hear birds chirping. The world kept revolving, moving forward with each passing second. The Dark Lord had returned, had threatened to put an end to this world, this life as she knew it...yet, here they all were. Still stuck in this world without laws, without rule or religion.

And the birds were still chirping.

And she had kissed Mary Wardwell last night.

The doorknob jiggled and Zelda stirred to find Hilda sneaking into their room, a tray of fresh smelling fruits, toast, jam, and steaming coffee balanced in her hands. She smiled awkwardly at Zelda, waiting for the elder sister to acknowledge her before moving forward timidly. "I sensed you were awake."

"What time is it?" Zelda rubbed at her eyes, pulled herself up so that Hilda could settle the tray atop her lap.

Hilda sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out to press Zelda's hair behind her ears. "It's well past noon, lovey."

Zelda lifted the coffee cup to her lips and drank. Her hand shook.

Hilda looked on at her, worried. Why must everyone be so worried for her?

"You haven't been sleeping well so when you didn't move last night I decided not to wake you." Hilda explained.

Zelda dripped jam onto a slice of toast and ate it. Her sister's jam was divine. "Hilda," she sat the half-bitten toast onto the plate and sat back. "I want to tell you everything...I want to but it hardly makes sense to me. I..."

Hilda took her hand and held it encouragingly. "You know you can tell me anything, sister."

The house was deadly silent around them. Ambrose was still absent, Sabrina presumably at school. It was only the two of them. And the clicking of the clock. It struck one. Zelda clasped at Hilda's hand.

"We're in limbo, Hilda." Zelda looked at her sister. "There is no god or goddess to worship. Lilith hasn't defeated Lucifer nor has Sabrina been successful."

"Dear me, she's tried?" Hilda interjected.

"I'm afraid so." Zelda lifted the coffee to her lips again. "I don't know what to tell the church. For it appears I am being tested, but in the most brutal of ways."

Hilda nodded. "The dreams have been violent."

Zelda sighed, staring into the dark liquid before her. "It's always _her_."

"Lilith?"

"Mary. Mary Wardwell. It seems Lilith wants me to get closer to Mary Wardwell." Zelda looked at Hilda and laughed. "Can you believe it? A mortal."

"Who was possessed by Lilith, mind you." Hilda offered.

"That may be so, but it makes no sense." Zelda sipped her coffee and then settled it down, reaching for her cigarettes. "Mary's apparition has appeared to me night after night, torturing me mercilessly. Until she...she...I think, Hilda, that I have been given something very powerful. And when I'm with...when I am near her it only grows stronger."

"When you're with Mary Wardwell?" Hilda was trying to follow Zelda's words but it made no more sense to her than it did to Zelda.

"Yes, I've...I've been meeting with her...seeing her...here and there." Zelda waved a hand through her smoke as if to some levity about what it was she was doing with Mary.

"You've been...seeing her? Romantically?"

"Yes…no...well in a way, I suppose." Zelda conceded.

"Since when..."

"Since after the attack, since after she returned to hell as Lilith and came back Mary."

Hilda digested this news for a while, watching Zelda smoke and think. "Do you...love her, Zelds?"

Zelda laughed. "I've never believed in love before."

"It's a scary thing, Zelda. And you've never been one to open yourself up to another."

"I beg your pardon but I've opened myself to plenty of people. You...Sabrina..."

"This may be true, but we're family. We've always been together. Sabrina was a part of our brother and so we love her. But in all my years with you, I've never seen you give yourself over to another."

"I-I..." Zelda puffed furiously at her cigarette. Why should she have to defend herself anyway...what did it matter if she loved another or kept her love to herself? She was strong alone. She'd already made a fool of herself marrying Faustus, calculated as it had been. The fact that she had been made to act like a damn Stepford wife under his spell was enough to assure herself that love was not the answer.

"Maybe this is a good thing, Zelds." Hilda ran her hand over Zelda's warm cheek. "Having someone to love. It sounds like Lilith wants it."

"But who cares what Lilith wants for me? Who cares what anyone wants for me?" Zelda turned wide eyes on her sister. "I've spent my entire life, all of these long, long years learning about and worshipping and dedicating my life to the Church of Night, to Satan. And look at where it has gotten us. It's pointless, Hilda. Utterly pointless. I'm through doing everything so perfectly to please someone else." She felt her stomach twist, as if some power was giving her a warning.

Hilda gave her a concerned look. "Zelda, even if there is no higher being to trust anymore, I still think this little...dalliance with Mary might be good for you."

Zelda searched for a sharp comeback but found she had no fight left in her. Mary was like a safe haven in this uncertain time. They had kissed, they had shared an intimacy so tense and delicate, unlike any Zelda had ever shared before.

"Perhaps you should sleep more. You look exhausted." Hilda removed the tray from Zelda's lap, held out the ashtray for her to crush out her cigarette.

A strong need to sleep overcame her then. Hilda had undoubtedly hexed the coffee. For she was soon out like a light again.

* * *

When she awoke again Sabrina was sitting on the edge of the bed, Salem on the other side, curled into Zelda's side.

"Auntie Zee?"

Zelda yawned, squinting, finding that the sun was on its way to setting, the room washed in warm orange. "Sabrina, whatever are you doing in here?"

"Hilda told me you'd wake soon. She wanted me to check on you. You're okay, aren't you?"

"Yes, yes. I am." Zelda took Sabrina's hand in her own, wanting to reassure her. Hating further that now Sabrina was concerned for her. "Just a little momentary illness. I'll be as good as new in no time."

Sabrina smiled encouragingly down at her aunt.

"Sabrina," Zelda clasped onto her arm. "Can you bring me your father's manifesto? Did you make a copy of it?"

"I…I did."

"I must read it. I need to…I need to understand what it was that my brother wanted for the Church."

"Is this a request from Lilith?"

Lilith, Lilith. That young, lithe creature. She was on a quest to overtake Lucifer, a lover's quarrel. No, it had not been that child's idea. Zelda had come to this herself, certainly. She needed to know, to understand the connection that was intended for mortals and witches. "No, it's merely to help me better understand."

"Has Lilith come to you?" Sabrina inquired.

Zelda's stomach twisted. "Yes. She has. And she has told me that you attempted to save Nicholas. It's a dangerous mission, Sabrina. One that we cannot take lightly. It will take more power than you have to defeat Lucifer."

"But I have Roz and Harvey and Theo on my side. They can help…they have powers to see and know things…"

Zelda sat up in the bed. "Your _mortal friends_have powers?"

"Yes, they…they can help us."

What had Zelda been missing all these years? Normal humans might have superpowers? They were now working with witches to overtake the Underworld? What was this world?

Zelda felt her head reeling. She reached for a cigarette, plucked from her beautifully crafted cigarette box. She placed the cigarette in its rightful holder and lit the thing, inhaling raggedly for everything was changing right before her eyes. "It's not enough yet." Zelda picked a piece of ash off her tongue, lost in thought.

"But, you think it can be?" Sabrina looked hopeful.

"I'm not sure…but I think…" Zelda looked to her niece. "I think it might be enough soon. Bring me the manifesto."

Sabrina nodded, leaping from the bed to retrieve it.

Zelda had no idea what it was she might find, but the connections were slowly coming together, the cogs falling into place, revealing the path forward piece by piece.


	8. Chapter 8

"It's strange," Sabrina happened to say as they sat around the dinner table. "Ms. Wardwell hasn't been at school."

Zelda's ears perked up. She felt Hilda glance to her as she turned on Sabrina. "Whatever do you mean? How many days hasn't she been at school?"

"Oh…uh, maybe the past three days. Which is really strange for her because she never misses school. For anything." Sabrina cut into her sausage and Zelda felt her heart start beating rapidly.

She wiped delicately at her lips and tossed her napkin down, no longer hungry. "I must go."

Sabrina gave her a confused look, Hilda stared concerned at her.

"Where are you going, Auntie Zee?"

"Out, simply out. I must…" Zelda's heart raced faster as she gathered up her belongings, leaving Hilda to reassure Sabrina that everything was alright. Because she did not know if everything was alright.

She arrived to the darkly lit cottage, pounded on the door. "Mary?! Mary, are you in there?" And after several minutes of no response, Zelda took it upon herself to magically open the door herself and rushed inside, heart in her throat at what she might find. She had promised Mary would not be hurt by the book, but if something had…if someone had…she couldn't be harmed, she simply could not be.

"Mary?" Zelda called, wandering blindly through the cottage, unfamiliar with more than the living area and the kitchen. She found a light on in a room towards the back. She moved towards the light, hands shaking.

Pressing open the door she was somewhat relieved to find Mary Wardwell laying in her bed, the book fallen to her side, glasses ajar on her face, hair a mess about her head, her robe sparsely covering her body so that Zelda saw the curve of her breast for a brief moment. She paused, waiting to confirm the even rise and fall of the other woman's chest and when she determined that she was still breathing she let out the breath she had been holding, relieved.

"Mary?" Zelda shyly whispered.

The other woman stirred, glanced around as if afraid for a moment and then her eyes landed on Zelda and she gave her a tired smile. "Zelda, what are you…"

"Sabrina said you'd been out the last few days and I simply…wanted to make sure that you were…that everything was…"

"I'm fine." Mary stirred, pulling her robe protectively about herself, righting her glasses on her nose, running her hands nervously through her hair. "I…I finished. I finished reading the book."

"You did?" Zelda was astonished.

"I've been having these momentary flashbacks, little pieces of the last few months keep coming back to me. I've seen Lucifer. I've seen him before."

"Yes, yes. You tried to defeat him." Zelda smiled. "Well, you were possessed by Lilith."

Mary looked flummoxed at this. "I was Lilith? I…but she…"

"She has served the Dark Lord for millennia. Yes." Zelda dared to step a little closer. Mary moved so as to invite Zelda to the edge of the bed. It felt as if they were crossing some sort of line and this was hardly even an act of intimacy. It was only Zelda settling on the bed beside Mary, Mary who looked utterly frightened by this revelation. "If you allow me, I want to tell you all that has happened these last few months. But…I must warn you there are parts that might concern you; however, Lilith revived you once she returned to the Underworld and so you must know that she is looking out for you."

Mary sat entranced as Zelda told her everything, simply everything from the last few months. As much as Zelda, herself, knew, for she was certain that she did not even know all that had happened. Sabrina had only told her so much, but she had witnessed a great deal of events. She even told of her marriage to Faustus, the fact that she was still, in fact, married to him so it made her technically the High Priestess of the coven, to which Mary's face hardened to her and she wondered if she should have skipped over this small detail. For it was really the vanquishing of Lucifer that mattered in this moment. The fact that he was in Hell, inside of Sabrina's boyfriend's body and now Zelda felt she was called to somehow rectify this situation.

And, when she was finally done talking, Mary asked if she could have a cigarette. Zelda knew she had overwhelmed her, yet she also knew that she needed to know these events, to better understand, in order to truly have her life back.

She watched as Mary puffed away, her mind racing. "She took my rib, for some kind of spell."

Zelda affirmed this.

"You were recently married?" Mary was slowly processing all of this information.

Zelda felt her brow furrow, she took the cigarette from Mary and inhaled on it. "Yes, it was a marriage to gain power, nothing more."

"But you…I presume you enjoyed…"

"To be honest, yes and no. He played into my proclivities but when we were married he put a curse on me and I was like a doll to him. He…he used me at his whim. He…he no longer cared."

Mary ran her hands over her thighs, irritated. "I hate that you had to marry him."

"I wanted the title." Zelda was not proud of her actions and telling Mary made her gut twist in pain. "I was willing to go through much worse in order to gain it."

"Worse?"

Zelda put the cigarette to her lips and inhaled, her mind flashing to the eve before her marriage. The way she had felt when the Dark Lord had entered for her. The way she had felt so afraid, so unwilling to submit to him. "Yes, but it's of no matter. It didn't come to pass."

"Was it worth it?"

Zelda considered this. Were the past few months of subjection to this horrid man and the past lifetime of dedication to Satan worth it all? To be here…to be here with Mary, finally uncovering the fact that she had a mind of her own…perhaps it had been worth it. "I think it just might have been."

Mary bowed her head, reaching up to put her hands beneath her glasses, rubbing at her tired eyes. "Thank you…thank you for telling me."

Zelda frowned, for she could sense that Mary was upset. "What is it?" She leaned forward to put out her cigarette in a water glass beside Mary's bed. In the motion she smelled Mary's floral, heady scent, multiplied on her sheets. She put her hand to Mary's cheek, but Mary turned from her. "What?" Zelda sat back.

Mary shook her head. "It's…just…you…were with him and…"

"Mary, I didn't love him. I played with him, I…we had a very domineering relationship that was nothing more than a game to either of us. It's…absolutely different."

Mary peered at her through a curtain of hair. "But I can't do…those things."

Zelda's eyebrow rose in amusement for she could vividly imagine Mary doing _those_things. "But that is not of importance to me." She reached out and brushed dark hair from Mary's cheek, her finger running lovingly down Mary's jaw, pausing at Mary's lips.

"You prefer men?" Mary asked shyly.

Zelda laughed deeply. "I've never preferred anyone like this before. Yes, I have been with men and women alike. Usually men. But I never…" Zelda's thumb brushed over Mary's lips, almost without thought. She could feel the other woman's heart pounding in her neck.

Mary froze beneath her. "Zelda," her voice barely above a whisper.

Zelda met her frightened eyes and leaned forward to kiss her lips, hoping to assuage her fears. Mary sighed against her. Zelda sat up, thumb still pressed against her cheek. She could feel such a strong yearning from the other woman, her whole body throbbing beneath Zelda's hand and she felt infinitely responsible for her care. And she would care for her. Slowly, delicately.

Her finger traced down the curve of Mary's strong chin, delighted over the soft flesh of her neck, her strong collarbone. Mary's eyes never moved from Zelda's face as she trailed her finger daringly further sliding it along her robe so that the material gave way, sliding open as she traced around the outside of Mary's hardened breast. Slowly the material slipped to the side, revealing the pert, dark nipple from Zelda's dream. It was glorious, this breast, Mary's still youthful skin, freckled here and there. She slid her hand all the way around so as to palm the flesh, hold it lovingly, run her thumb over the nipple.

Mary reached for her, a gasp elicited from between her lips.

Zelda met her hooded gaze, lowering her dark lipstick stained lips to envelope Mary's nipple in her mouth. She flicked her tongue over the nub and felt Mary's entire body jolt beneath her.

Mary's finger tangled in Zelda's hair, Zelda sensed Mary's sexuality awakening as it had never before. The schoolmistress held her ever closer, her body flushed, moving against Zelda's ministrations. She had carnal desires, she was a sexual woman, she wanted, Zelda could taste it on her breast.

She kissed her way back to Mary's neck, listening as the woman gasped, ecstatic. Their lips met, heat rushing everywhere as Zelda's hand covered Mary's breast, as they kissed with a depth they had not yet explored. Mary's mouth was warm, Zelda's tongue slid against the roof of her mouth, Mary's teeth accidentally bit down. Zelda groaned, huskily.

Mary was shoving at her then, afraid and overwhelmed. Her chest was flushed, a bead of perspiration shown on her forehead, breath ragged.

"Are you alright?" Zelda cupped the woman's cheek, waiting for her breath to even out again.

Mary nodded, a hint of tears caught in the corners of her eyes. "Zelda..."

"Don't worry, darling. I won't hurt you." _At least I won't intentionally_...The thought made Zelda's stomach sink, a fear welled inside of her. For here was Mary Wardwell, practically a virgin before her. And she wanted so much from Zelda, Zelda knew. And if she were to give into her own, carnal desires and take what she wanted she knew she wouldn't be able to go back. She never wanted to harm Mary. "I won't let anything harm you." Zelda whispered, letting her head come to rest on Mary's warm chest, listening to the woman's heart beating in her chest.

What a lovely sound it made.

Mary's arms wound about her, holding her close, fingers tangling in her hair. She leaned up to press a kiss to Mary's neck. Was this what the mortals would call "heaven"?

No, she didn't want to relate this moment to anything Godlike. This was as if living on top of the world, in a state of complete bliss, it was divine to be in Mary's arms.

She kept herself from her own tears that stung at her eyes, closing them tightly and inhaling the warm scent that was Mary Wardwell. So earthy, raw, sweet.

* * *

She blinked open her eyes to find a blinding light filtering through unfamiliar windows. A body was near her, pressed against her. She was warm, having fallen asleep in her clothes. Her collar felt tight about her neck.

The body beside her was so warm.

She turned to find dark hair covering shoulders which were wrapped in a robe that had fallen open to reveal the smoother curve of her bedmate's hip, the supple flesh of her bottom exposed. Zelda fought back the urge to run her hand over this decadent curve.

The figure beside her stirred, her motions having disturbed Mary from her sleep. Blue eyes turned to face her, at first looking worried, but upon realizing that it was Zelda who had slept beside her she flushed and moved to cover herself, as if embarrassed. Zelda instantly missed the soft looking skin. Certainly there would be time to explore that later, wouldn't there be?

"We fell asleep." Zelda whispered, running her hand over Mary's warm cheek.

Mary's timid smile tempted her, taunted her to lean down and capture her lips in a gentle kiss. To wake up to Mary was a huge improvement to those infernal mornings with Faustus. He'd demanded sex from her instantly, no foreplay, no longing, loving touches. And she wouldn't have wanted it from him either.

Mary, however, was a different story entirely. Modest as she was, it was like unfurling her courage each time and it was endearing. Mary returned her kisses. "You slept in your clothes."

"I must have been exhausted." Zelda undid her collar so that she might breath again. And it felt as if she were keeping her clothes on as some kind of protection for if her body was in the same state as Mary's, and if they had happened to touch flesh-to-flesh…

They kissed again and then Mary shifted away, as if also afriad. "I'll make some coffee." She shyly moved away from Zelda, gathering her robe up so that she might not expose herself any more than she had the night before.

They took coffee and some toast at the table, Zelda delighting in the way Mary let her robe come ever so slightly open at the top, the way in which her hair hung delightfully about her face.

"I think Lilith wishes for us to work together." Zelda mused as she helped herself to some apple butter that Mary had made herself and it was one of the most delicious things she'd ever eaten.

"Work together?" Mary eyed her over her coffee cup. "How?"

"I'm still piecing it together. My brother wrote a Manifesto that he was trying to make witch law before his death."

Mary's brow raised. "This was Sabrina's father?"

"Yes, you see he was involved with a mortal woman, Sabrina's mother. This was very much against the wishes of the Church. But it seems that it was his mission to undo this way of thinking. Only he was never able to present his proposal to the Anti-Pope."

"It's against witch law to marry a mortal?" Mary's eyes grew large.

"For centuries this has been so. A way to protect the race. Only Edward, my brother, defied this tradition. And do you know who was behind my brother's death? My husband. Yes, Faustus Blackwood had some hand in killing my brother. I only recently found out, but you must see…you have to see that I cannot love him."

"Oh," Mary looked hurt by this, heartbroken. "Zelda, why didn't you tell me…"

"It's of no importance now. What is done is done. I've made my bad decisions. But I must find a way to move forward."

Mary pulled her robe closed a bit, self-consciously. "Why do you want to involve me?"

Zelda looked to Mary, recognizing that her words had hurt her. Not only had she revealed to her her marriage, but that her own laws and customs forbid their union. But Mary had to see…had to know that Zelda was no longer playing by these archaic rules.

"You were touched by Lilith. You were chosen for a purpose. I have not yet figured out why, but I do know…" Zelda could feel Mary pulling away from her. "Mary, I know that what I feel for you is not a part of this. Whatever forces there may be pulling us forward, whoever may be in charge…I don't care. I care for you and the rules mean nothing to me."

Mary looked down, her cheeks flushed. "Zelda," she took off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I may appear strong willed and independent, but I…I don't think I have the strength, the…ability to help in any of this."

Zelda shook her head, "You're much stronger than you even know. I believe that."

Mary only bowed her head, searching deep into her coffee cup. "I should be getting ready for school. I haven't…I wanted to finish reading the Unholy Bible in peace. I didn't mean to worry you."

Zelda smiled, standing from the table to go to Mary. She placed her hands on her shoulders. "I'm only glad that you're alright. I should be getting home as well." She leaned down, Mary turning to press their lips together, Zelda daring to find the warmth within that delectable silk robe, to palm Mary's breast which responded instantly to her touch. "This is alright?" Zelda whispered against Mary's lips.

And Mary nodded in affirmation, breathless. "When will I see you again?"

"Tonight. If you're free."

"Yes." Mary shuddered as Zelda righted herself then put herself back together before leaving Ms. Wardwell to prepare for her day of teaching. With one look back before she left, she knew that it would be a long day for the schoolmistress.

And as Zelda walked through the chilly morning towards her car, she cast a protection spell about the cottage.


	9. Chapter 9

Only Zelda had no idea the length of the day she would have before her.

Hilda greeted her at the door, a pleased look of knowing coloring her welcome home.

"Now don't get yourself too excited. I just fell asleep, and that was all." Zelda breezed past her sister.

She retreated to her bathroom, stripping down to nothing while the water poured into the bathtub. She was on fire; her body awake as it hadn't been for years. Not even Faustus had aroused her in this way. And instead of pain, she slid into a rose and mint scented bath and touched her body with loving care. Her hand slid over her own pert, pink nipple, her other hand slipping between her legs. Her head fell back against the edge of the tub, eyes closing as she imagined Mary's hands on her, Mary's lips, Mary's breasts in her hands, in her mouth, Mary's bare behind.

She came, again and again, until the bath water went cold. Her body spent, she submerged her entire exhausted being beneath the surface, nerves humming, alive.

After putting herself back together she returned to the kitchen where Hilda was baking some sort of treat for Dr. Cee. It smelled of chocolate and pumpkin. She drank coffee and read her newspaper, filling Hilda in occasionally on the night's happenings. Mary had been unharmed, she had read the Unholy Bible and was now processing the events of the past few months, what she had done, who she had been.

She kept the other details to herself, lost in the memory of them momentarily until they both heard a bang near the front door. They rushed to see what had happened and Zelda, opening the door, found quite the surprise.

Ambrose and Prudence had arrived on the stoop, each carrying a bundle strapped to their fronts.

Leticia and Judas had returned to them unharmed. Faustus Blackwood was dead. Killed and then magically put under so that he may never rise again. Ambrose and Prudence had made sure of his death.

Zelda thought she might feel bereft at this anticipated news coming to fruition but she felt only a sense of relief and cuddled Letty in her arms, pleased to have the infant back in her care.

She had grown large in their months apart. She still fit in Zelda's arms, but her cheeks were filling out and she was heavier. And Zelda had no idea how much she had missed this child. She'd never had maternal longings, perhaps when Ambrose and Sabrina had come along, but something about her growing older and appreciating all that was around her made her regard Letty in a different light.

Judas was a darling boy as well. Hilda tended to him as they all sat around the living room discussing the events of the last few days.

"We found Faustus hiding in Switzerland."

Zelda laughed darkly, "an ironic choice of place to hide."

"Yes, I believe he thought he would somehow be exempt from punishment since Switzerland has always been so neutral." Prudence rolled her eyes in disdain at her father. How much had changed, for she had wanted his approval so badly and now she had succeeded in killing him. She was her own woman now. She needed no one else's approval.

Hilda went to make some lunch after Prudence escaped to return to her sisters, leaving Zelda and Ambrose alone with the babies.

Ambrose sensed that something was weighing on his aunt. "What is it Auntie?"

Zelda brushed her cheek against the infant's cheek, inhaling the scent of her innocence. "So much has changed."

"Have you word of Lucifer?"

"Yes, he's still alive, slowly gnawing away at Nicholas in an attempt to get out. It's not an ideal situation."

"Sabrina has attempted to slay him, I presume."

"Yes, though she is not powerful enough on her own." Zelda stroked the baby's cheek. "Ambrose, what do you know of Edward's ideas for moving forward with the Church of Night?"

Ambrose looked at his Auntie with a curious gaze. "Have you had no word from Lilith?"

Zelda rolled her eyes. "I have been visited by her. _Tortured_by her. But...I believe there might be another way forward. I want to know..." Zelda glanced up to make sure Hilda was not listening, nor anyone else. "I want to know how he fully intended on using mortals. For years we have regarded them as enemies. They have not understood our position, our powers and so they fear us. How are we supposed to use them to help us if they are afraid?"

Ambrose considered this for a while, looking as taken aback as his aunt was by the task placed before them. "Is there a mortal involved now?"

Zelda cleared her throat. "Yes...there's Sabrina's friends: Harvey, Roz, Theo…and there's Mary Wardwell." She spoke the name while looking shyly down at Letty.

"Ah, she survived after all?"

And the thought of her having ever been dead at all sent a jolt of pain through Zelda. Ambrose astutely noticed this pained expression.

"You are involved with her, Auntie?"

Zelda shot him an annoyed glance. "Not _involved_per say. Somewhat _involved_, I suppose."

Ambrose smiled. "Very well then."

"Oh, don't look so smug." Zelda shifted Letty in her lap, the enfant growing heavy-eyed with sleep. "I'm not exactly sure what it is. I think Lilith led me to her for some reason. I have yet to put it all together."

"You know, Auntie, that Mary Wardwell has studied the history of witches for years. Yet, she also goes off to mass every Sunday."

"Does she?" Zelda eyed him. "Well, I'm not surprised. She was raised Catholic."

"And I presume she knows that you're a witch?"

"Yes."

"And she knows all about what it is that has happened?"

"I've only just told her." Zelda confirmed.

"And you think she may have some purpose in this mission? You think she may be able to stop the Apocalypse?"

Zelda felt a chill at the word. The Apocalypse. It sounded so daunting, so unrealistic. The sun was out, birds were chirping, a practically brand-new life was in her arms. And they were talking about an Apocalypse. An ending to all of this…this beauty. It seemed surreal. "I'm not sure what it is she can do, but Lilith has assured me that she will be of importance."

"And how is Sabrina?" Ambrose asked, noting the uncomfortable edge in Zelda's voice at discussing Mary.

"At school. Her mortal school. She has decided to stay there until graduation."

"She cannot be pleased by the events that have just happened. Finding out that your father may be the Dark Lord is rather daunting."

"Quite so." Zelda agreed, a wave of disgust settling over her, for the idea that Lucifer had wanted Sabrina to rule at his side, as if a lover, when he might very well be her father…it was beyond perverse. And witches could be perverse, but there was still a level of decorum to follow.

The front door opened and slammed shut and just as if she had known she was being discussed, Sabrina entered the room. "Ambrose!" She exclaimed, running into his arms. "You're back. You're okay."

"Of course, Cousin! I wouldn't dare leave you for anything." It was a darling embrace, this love that they had between on another. He wouldn't leave her for anything and yet here they sat talking so calmly about the Apocalypse supposedly happening all around them.

Sabrina turned then and realized that along with Ambrose had come the twins. "Oh, Auntie Zee. Leticia and Judas are here? Does that mean…"

"Yes, Father Blackwood is dead. Prudence and Ambrose made sure of it." Zelda patted Leticia on the back, pleased.

"So, you will not be punished further for what he's done?" Sabrina turned back to Ambrose.

"No, there is no longer a council to be reconciled with. Perhaps only Aunt Zelda may have some sort of power."

Zelda frowned, for she did not feel powerful at all just then. "There will be no further punishment for we know that it was Father Blackwood who poisoned Ambrose against the Anti-Pope. We have more pressing matters to deal with. We must revive those who were affected by Father Blackwood and establish something more…practical for the coven." Zelda spoke wisely.

Sabrina agreed, moving to sit beside her aunt, looking down at Letty. "She's beautiful."

"Yes." Zelda smiled. "Would you like to hold her?"

Sabrina held out her arms and Zelda parted with the child. "I was worried about you last night, Auntie Zee." Sabrina spoke as she rocked the child in her arms.

"It was all okay." Zelda assured her.

"Yes, Ms. Wardwell was back at school today. She looked…well." Sabrina eyed Zelda with a bit of a smirk playing in her glance and Zelda rolled her eyes. "Well you didn't come home last night…"

Ambrose laughed. "What's this, Auntie?"

"I was only concerned for her safety…it was merely a precaution." Zelda felt a flush creeping up into her cheeks and she felt utterly ridiculous for having to justify herself to her niece and nephew. Of all people.

"I hope you protected her well." Ambrose fought off his own laugh. Zelda stared daggers at him.

"Auntie," Sabrina turned to her. "It's true then? I mean, I suspected when she came over for dinner, but when you didn't come home last night…"

"Oh, enough. Both of you. I'm going outside." Zelda stood up, no longer wanting to be patronized for her nighttime activities. It was a shame that her family could not be more uninvolved and aloof. She supposed it was only made worse by the fact that Sabrina idolized Mary and so would immediately notice any sort of shift in the woman. Especially if that shift was because of her.

She retreated to the front porch and lit up a cigarette, staring out across the familiar spans of land.

How could they be living through an Apocalypse when all of nature was alight and alive before her? The sun was sagging brilliantly in the sky, illuminating all sorts of glorious rainbow hues. First pink, then electric orange, powder blue, florescent purple. They colored the outlines of the tall, strong, green trees surrounding their property and below were the people who rested peacefully in the living, breathing soil of the earth.

This was life, this was not the end. It could not be the end. Things were only beginning.


	10. Chapter 10

Zelda found Mary surrounded by piles and piles of books, a pencil stuck in her up do, glasses sliding down her nose, absorbed in the pages of something thick and heavy. She looked up, as if surprised by Zelda's arrival despite their arrangement to meet only hours before.

"Whatever are you doing?" Zelda came towards the covered dining table, finger trailing over the leather-bound library books. Mysticism, Catholicism, demonology, mythological creatures, witchcraft and wizardry, a bible. The titles jumped out at Zelda, her fingers stopping on a book on St. Michael, the angel who had defeated Lucifer. She thumbed through its contents as Mary finished scribbling a note on an already full pad of paper before her.

"Research." Mary replied breezily. "You said that you were unable to defeat Lucifer and I think there must be a way. He must have some weakness."

Zelda smiled to herself, for this was utterly adorable. Bookish Mary was intoxicating. Her body was taut – was she aroused by this? "You think the answer will be in one of these books?" Zelda sat the book back down and moved towards Mary. She leaned down behind her, reading over her quickly written notes.

Mary had very nearly summarized the very existence of Lucifer, trailing him from inception to present day, another column was even sketched out about Lilith.

Zelda lowered her face to Mary's neck, inhaling that decadent scent that was solely her. A hint of arousal coated the surface of her skin and Zelda pressed her lips against the soft flesh of her neck.

Mary whimpered, nearly imperceptibly. "Knowledge is power." She whispered, her heart speeding up, for Zelda could see it beating there in her neck. Zelda smiled to herself and settled into the chair adjacent to Mary.

"Lucifer is cunning."

"Yes, he's capable of great deceptions. I've looked into every iteration of him and while there's no two sources in agreement, he continues to show up again and again." Mary pushed her glasses back into place. "I never told you but I also majored in mysticism and religion in college."

"Perhaps you haven't told me many things." Zelda toyed with the edge of a religious book on Saints. A chill went through her.

Mary looked up at her, confusion and hurt etched in her brow. "What do you mean?"

"My nephew told me you still attend mass on Sundays."

Mary flushed. "And so, what if I do?"

"You're not going to suddenly become a witch hunter and use what I've told you against me?"

Mary looked hurt, perhaps as if she might cry and Zelda instantly regretted having even said such a ridiculous thing.

Mary would not do that. The woman, suddenly so small looking, glanced back to her books, flustered.

Zelda felt as if a wall had just gone up between them and she wished she could take back her comment.

Several moments passed before Mary sat down her pencil. "I'm going to make some tea."

Zelda rolled her eyes, about to pull Mary back but the sprightly woman was already out of her seat and disappearing around the corner. Zelda waited, in agony, lighting up a cigarette, reading over Mary's very sound notes.

The woman returned with a tray of tea and cookies, pouring a cup for each of them before finally settling back into her seat. "I suppose I haven't told you many things." Mary spoke after sipping her tea.

Zelda felt her heart twist.

"I don't open up to many people. I suppose Adam was the last person I ever let in and even he did not know everything." Mary sat back and removed her glasses. Her clear blue eyes shimmered in the candlelit cottage room. "I was born here. In this cottage. My father worked in the mines. I only ever remember him coming home late at night, black with soot. He hardly ever looked at me. He regretted that I wasn't a boy." Mary took the cigarette from Zelda.

"My mother was a devout Catholic. We attended mass every Sunday. Every Sunday, no matter what. Rain, shine, storms…we were there. She devoted her life to that place. It's like…when I'm there she's still there. It was the only place I remember her truly being alive." Mary paused to smoke before handing the cigarette back to Zelda.

"She wanted so terribly to have another child. She felt it was her duty as a Catholic wife and she wanted to give my father a son. I was not easy to conceive and all her attempts after me ended in miscarriages. I remember seeing the bloodstains." Mary winced. "And the worst part of it all was how my father did his duty. I heard everything. This terrible, terrible pounding. Every morning, every night. I didn't know what it was until one night I peered through the crack in their door and I saw him on top of her." She closed her eyes. "I hated him. And she took it, she took it because she felt it was her _duty_."

"I used to pray that God would take him away from us. I thought…I thought if he were gone then my mother would be happy. I wanted her to see me. Not as a failure for not having been a boy. I wanted…" Mary trailed off, played with the edge of her collar. "I always felt responsible for his death."

"What happened?" Zelda passed her the cigarette, wanting to touch her but finding that her body was wound impossibly tight.

"The mine collapsed. He died excavating a shaft."

"That wasn't your fault." Zelda assured her.

"But isn't it, if I wanted it to happen?" Mary's clear eyes had turned red, tears threatening.

"No." Zelda reached out to put her hand over Mary's.

Mary inhaled on the cigarette and then butted it in the ashtray she'd left out for Zelda. She let Zelda's fingers entwine with hers. "It didn't help. His death. My mother only became more devoted to the church. She started going nearly every day. She dragged me there every day. And then…and then the sleepwalking started."

"Every full moon I found myself in the middle of the forest. I have no recollection of how I got there, what drove me to that one spot. It was as if I were dreaming only I would awake in the stillness of the night surrounded by trees, dirt beneath my feet. I remember…so many vague things. There were beautiful women, dancing naked, so free, so happy, so very different from my mother. I remember seeing wild animals, so large in the woods, but they never harmed me. I watched two people having sex. And it was so much different than seeing my parents, it was more passionate, filled with something more…"

"Of course, I would come home at dawn and my mother would be furious. She'd…she'd beat me, punish me for having been out. And didn't I know that woods were not a place to be at night…anything could happen to me. But…I only ever felt at peace in those woods, surrounded by nature, surrounded by those wild, open, loving free beings who inhabited the forest. And the church grew colder and colder to me. I…" Mary looked timidly at Zelda. "I stopped believing. The Catholic God is no God of love." Mary spoke definitively.

Zelda noticed the cross above her fireplace was crooked.

"My mother died of ovarian cancer right after I finished college. I came back here to care for her, that's when I got the job at Baxter High so that I could be with her. And for some reason…I've never left."

"She's here. She's in these walls." Zelda whispered.

A tear fell down Mary's cheek. She bowed her head. "You have to see I mean you no harm by going to mass it's only to…I ask for forgiveness. For my father, for my mother. But it's meaningless. All of it. Religion is empty myths."

Zelda's brow furrowed, emphatically understanding Mary. She stood, moving to Mary's side. Reaching out she wiped at her eyes, took her into her arms and Mary buried her face into Zelda's stomach. "Shh, it's alright." She ran soothing circles over the other woman's back. "Thank you…thank you for telling me."

She held her for what seemed an eternity, the room's energy shifting, calming around them. Their breaths evened out to match one another's, settling into this newfound intimacy.

Mary shifted, looked up at Zelda. "I'm – I'm s-"

"Don't." Zelda shook her head, leaning down to cup Mary's cheeks, pressing their lips together. And slowly Mary began to blossom, each kiss sparked a new level of want. Mary's fingers were at Zelda's jacket, undoing her buttons. Zelda pulled the stifling thing off of herself.

It was only a matter of minutes before Zelda was in no more than her black slip, the feeling of being so exposed before Mary was liberating. Mary came undone so easily. Zelda stripped her down to her bra and silky undergarment. They found themselves in Mary's room, Zelda straddling her so that she could tug and pull her hair loose, wanting her to be undone. Mary's hands slid up her thighs, fingers slipping beneath her slip, no longer shy.

"Oh," Zelda, having succeeded in freeing Mary's impressive mass of hair ran her fingers into either side of her head and pulled her close to kiss her. Mary's eyes opened, staring up at her. She clasped Mary's chin, squeezing ever so lightly so that her mouth opened. She leaned in, tracing her tongue along the curve of Mary's sumptuous lips.

Mary shuddered beneath her, breathless.

And as they kissed, Zelda summoned up a healing spell that she remembered from long ago. It would not take all the pain away, but perhaps it might give Mary some sense of relief. So as they kissed she offered up a calming, bright ray of energy, willing it to infuse every inch of Mary, to assuage her pains and bring her peace.

And Mary responded in kind, as if her own kisses were powerful enough to heal what it was that Zelda ached from. The loss of her brother, the loss of Faustus, the horror of finding the Coven poisoned, the past months with Sabrina, coming face-to-face with death more times than she'd like. Mary made her forget it all.

The heat between them grew so that wearing any clothing at all seemed unbearable. Zelda undid herself before Mary and Mary looked on with dilated curiosity. Zelda took Mary's hand in her own, leading it to cover her breast, giving her permission for which it seemed she sought. And with some gentle urging, Zelda removed the last of what protected Mary and she found the most exquisite body hidden beneath that schoolmistress attire. Of course, she had admired Mary's body when she had been possessed by Lilith, given her penchant for tight fitting dresses. But she had not imagined what may lay beneath. It was revelatory, this gorgeous body. Long, lean, muscular, so in contrast to her own warm curves.

But Mary seemed taken with her, growing bolder with each passing second. Zelda's leg moved between Mary's, feeling her warm wetness against her skin. She pulled herself up so that she could kiss Mary, powerfully, deeply. Mary's body moved against her. She was no longer timid in her kisses, in her want. She was pliant, willing to be taken and Zelda wanted to do just that. She wanted to please her.

Her kisses descended the length of Mary, first her lips, her neck, collarbone, a nipple, her strong stomach, her naval. Mary shifted. "What are you…"

"Trust me." Zelda kissed her skin again, looking up to her. And Mary nodded her consent, grasping onto the sheets at her sides.

And Zelda kissed the sensitive patch above her center. Mary moaned, as if embarrassed, but opened herself to Zelda, Zelda settling between her legs so that she could run her tongue over Mary's arousal which had only been growing since their previous evening's events. Mary jumped at the sensation. Zelda stroked her with her thumb several times, looking up to find Mary trying to watch her, but also fighting off heavy eyelids. Zelda's tongue flicked over her swollen center again and then she sucked in rhythmic time.

Mary's moans were guttural, animalistic. Sounds, Zelda knew, that were foreign to her.

Zelda felt her responding deliciously to this treatment, felt her body giving itself over to her care. Mary was lost to her and she found it intoxicating. And as Mary's body grew tighter, searching for a release, Zelda removed her lips, flipping her over onto her stomach. Mary let out a bereft sigh. Zelda's lips moved to the delicate curve of flesh on her behind, biting where she had only allowed her eyes to wander the night before.

"Z-zelda…" Mary panted, wanting, on edge, pushed beyond her limits. She moved herself to be closer to Zelda, wanting for her to return to her, to guide her over her edge.

Zelda slid up her side, hand replacing her lips. Mary pressed against her hand, Zelda sunk her teeth against Mary's shoulder, kissed her, then slid her fingers inside of Mary and Mary groaned, lifting herself to Zelda's touch.

"You're glorious." Zelda panted.

"I…I want to…" Mary shifted, moved so that Zelda was on top of her once more and then she was pressing wildly against her, wanting. And Zelda's fingers curved inside of her, thumb rubbing at just the right spot and it only seemed like a second before Mary's frantic motions stilled, her body tightened, shuddering, holding Zelda inside of her until her body could take no more and she fell to the bed, bones loose, body slack.

"You're magnificent." Zelda leaned down, pressing kisses to her collarbone, her neck, her cheeks, and once Mary was more recovered, her lips. And she found that Mary was crying. "Mary…"

"I'm…okay." Mary whispered, hoarse. "Oh, Zelda."

"It's alright." Zelda assured her, unable to keep her hands away from the flesh laid bare beneath her, so that she could only keep caressing her tenderly.

"Th-that was…" Mary could hardly even move her mouth. "Oh…I need you." She whispered against Zelda's ear. And she needed her again and again. Until they were both sore and Zelda got up to run them a bath because their bodies ached pleasantly.

Zelda held Mary in the tub, held her near to her, pressed up against her own swollen center, delighting in the way in which her own nipples pressed against Mary's back. Mary's soap smelled of her.

It was nearing three in the morning. Zelda could make out the full moon in the sky.

"I never knew it could be like this." Mary whispered, running her hand through the surface of the water, grazing over Zelda's knee.

"It can always be like this." Zelda bent to press her lips to Mary's shoulder. Then realized what she had said. Could it? Always be this way? The thought sounded so contrite, so impossible. For two people to blissfully live this way was madness.

And what of the Apocalypse looming over them? What of the day's events that she had not even told Mary about – the return of Judas and Leticia. That might hurt her. There was so much that was uncertain, so much that could ruin this.

"Mary?"

"Hmm?" She rolled her head back, exhausted from their evening.

"There are things I have not yet told you." Zelda whispered.

"I don't want to know right now." Mary turned in the tub, turned so that she could face Zelda. "Whatever it is, I don't care. I just want…I want this…" She pressed her lips to Zelda's and her momentary flare of anxiety dimmed on the artful movement of Mary's lips.

* * *

**I haven't said this on here, but thank you so much for reading along. I wasn't sure if many people were really still posting on but I like to keep all my stories here in one place. Anyway, thank you again for reading and for those of you who have commented. I always love your feedback! :) **


	11. Chapter 11

"I think you should come over for dinner this evening." Zelda whispered, lost in two sleepy pools of blue. Mary's eyes were the color of the sky on a clear blue day.

Mary shifted in the sheets, the light of morning illuminating her as it filtered through her half-closed blinds. Zelda's hand trailed over her soft cheek. Her thumb brushed lazily over Mary's pink lips and Mary opened her mouth, sucking on the digit, biting it before Zelda laughed and pulled away.

"I don't think I can get out of this bed much less think of what will be happening this evening. Let's not leave this room." Mary suggested, her voice filled with sleep.

"Darling, it's Friday and you already missed so many days this week." Zelda cautioned, knowing that if she kept Mary away from school yet again then Sabrina would certainly know just what it was her aunt was doing to her teacher.

"I don't think I can." Mary twisted, coming to pin Zelda to the bed. Taking Zelda's wrists in her hands, she lowered her lips to Zelda's neck.

"You're insatiable." Zelda moaned as Mary covered her with kisses, liberated and freed from the woman she had been only a morning ago.

"One more…one more and I promise I'll be a good girl and go to school." Mary whispered against the curve of Zelda's ear and Zelda was lost to her.

* * *

The afterglow of the previous evening's activities lingered with Zelda so that it felt as if her feet didn't touch the ground when she walked. She returned home in a state of bliss, smelling of Mary's soap and lingering arousal which clung to her.

Hilda eyed her even more curiously this morning. "Well then?"

Zelda could only smile, grabbed Letty up in her arms and held the darling child to her breast. "She's coming for dinner."

Hilda smiled at her sister. "I'll make something special. Oh, Zelds. I haven't seen you this happy since…" And here Hilda trailed off for they both knew that this had never happened in quite this way before. For Zelda had been smitten with people in the past but she had never, ever looked like this.

But as she folded herself down into the kitchen chair, reaching for a hot, fresh cinnamon roll that had just come out of the oven – for she was famished – her head bowed to take in Letty and her face suddenly sagged.

"What is it?" Hilda's own smile froze, dropped to a frown as she approached her sister with a steaming cup of coffee.

"She doesn't know about…"

Hilda frowned. "Certainly, that would not deter her."

"No, I suppose that's right." Zelda felt her heart start pounding in her chest. The cinnamon roll forgotten, the fresh cup of coffee Hilda had just handed her was placed back on the table, and the room began to spin.

"Zelda." Hilda raced to her side, steadied Leticia in her arms. "What is it?"

Zelda felt the whole world collapsing in on her. Things were still not as they _should_be – but what really was "should"? The Dark Lord still lived. The world might collapse soon. And only now she'd been granted this delectable woman who soothed her in ways she had never imagined anyone could and she wished that she had not left her bed that morning, that she might never leave her side, but there were these pressing matters to attend to and it all felt too much…

"Zelda, lovey, breath." Hilda traced circles her on the back with her palm, soothed her until she had moved through her darkness. Soon she returned again to the present, looking into the brilliant eyes of the baby in her lap, turning to look into Hilda's, steadying herself. "What is it, love?"

"It can't all just magically work out, can it?" Zelda whispered, Hilda stroking her hair as she had done when they were children.

"Perhaps, Zelda, in this case it will."

"But what about everything else. We haven't gotten any closer to figuring out how to defeat Lucifer. Lilith has been utterly silent and this thing with Mary feels…is it a distraction to pull me off course?"

"Now, love, you're only scared." Hilda smiled at her.

Zelda shot daggers at her sister. "Whatever do you mean? I'm not afraid, perhaps of Lucifer but not…"

Hilda, a bemused look on her face, just shook her head and held her coffee cup back up so that she might take it.

"I don't see how this is funny. I have been tasked with some sort of duty to save the Coven and I've failed them."

"Zelda, come. You're hardly giving yourself enough credit. They're all back at school, back to their lives, things are moving forward, you've done an excellent job of making them less afraid."

"But what of Lucifer? What about Nicholas? He cannot hold the Dark Lord forever."

"We shall sort it out, love." Hilda reassured her sister.

"Shall we?" Zelda shifted Letty to her shoulder. "Mary's been researching Lucifer, as if she might be able to find some way of saving us all."

"And maybe she will." Hilda beamed.

"Ugh, you're ridiculously chipper this morning." Zelda groaned.

"I'm happy for you, Sister." Hilda smiled.

But Zelda could not find it in herself – now that she was apart from Mary and dropped back into her own world with its own set of problems – to think as positively as her sister.

She spent the day looking through old books of witchcraft, searching for some hidden formula, some spell that might just work. But there was only one quite obvious answer – though it would be quite hard to locate.

* * *

"The Spear of Longinus." Mary announced as soon as Zelda opened the front door.

The teacher was again herself – laced up, done up, a wild gleam in her glowing blue eyes. How a day had morphed her back into a conservative librarian, as if she had not been laying naked beneath Zelda only hours before. And the contrast was darling. And how the wound up façade faded as Mary lingered in the doorway, eyes suddenly dilating.

Zelda, whom had spent the afternoon in a state of unease at the prospect of having invited her new lover to dine with her family, was now somehow relieved to see her again and though Mary appeared to be on a mission, Zelda could not be more content to see her.

"Oh," Mary gasped upon also seeming to realize that they were now together again. She glanced around uneasily, as if she might be in trouble for looking at Zelda in the way she was now regarding her, for she knew that they were not alone.

She also did not know if the witch had informed her family of their relationship so that when Zelda reached for her and pulled her into an embrace her body stiffened for a half a second before Zelda whispered, "it's fine. They all know." And then Mary's body softened and she allowed Zelda a chaste kiss.

Sabrina appeared on the stairwell, looking chipper as ever. "Good evening, Ms. Wardwell."

"Uh, yes." Mary stepped away from Zelda and smoothed her hands over her skirt. "Go-good evening, Sabrina."

Sabrina grinned as she looked between her annoyed Aunt and flustered teacher. "It's nice of you to join us. I'm glad you're here."

"Really – uh, well, yes. I'm glad to be here." Mary hemmed and hawed and Zelda rolled her eyes at the woman's lack of self-confidence.

"Mary was just telling me about the Spear of Longinus, which – as a matter of fact – I have been studying in great detail this afternoon but have made no conclusions as to its whereabouts." Zelda cut into the awkwardness of this meeting. It was not as if her family did not know that she had sex, only that it was with someone they knew and - in Sabrina's case - admired.

"But perhaps Ambrose could do a spell to find its whereabouts." Sabrina suggested.

And then they all heard the cry of a baby and Ambrose appeared with Judas kicking about in his arms and Zelda felt her heart start to pound, for she had intended on explaining everything to Mary before she happened upon either of the twins.

"And who might this be?" Mary moved closer to the baby, intrigued by its tears which turned into little gurgles as she neared it, her hands – those talented hands – stroked the child's little cheek.

"Uh, that's what I wanted to tell you about." Zelda, flustered, came to Mary's side.

Mary looked sweetly from the baby to Zelda, her face dropping. "This is not…but I didn't think…"

"Oh, no. No! This is not my own child."

"Oh, well then is it yours?" Mary looked up at Ambrose, for there might have been some sort of resemblance.

Ambrose smiled. "Auntie, I think I should leave you two alone. Sabrina, come help me feed them in the kitchen."

Sabrina frowned at her aunt and then smiled back up at Mary. Mary who kept her eyes curiously on Zelda, watching as sweat broke out on her brow.

"What is this?" Mary asked. "_Them_?"

"Come here." Zelda put an arm about Mary and led her into the quiet sitting room – away from prying eyes and ears. She settled Mary on the couch but found she could not sit herself. "Cigarette?" Zelda held out a cigarette box but Mary just stared at her.

"No." Mary sat stoically. Waiting.

Zelda stayed standing by the fireplace. "It's probably not so bad as I feel it is. It's probably nothing." She lit a cigarette for herself in her delicate holder. She turned to look at Mary. "First of all, you must know that Faustus, my husband, is dead."

Mary's brow furrowed. "Zelda…"

"No, his crimes were inadmissible and there was no other way…"

"You had something to do with it?" Mary swallowed.

Zelda felt her eyes go wide. "I…knew he was a threat. He…he tried to kill the Coven. All of them. If I had let him come back…if I had…"

Mary's look was quite unreadable. Was she upset with her because she had allowed his death? Shouldn't she be glad that he was no longer there, no longer her husband?

"What does it have to do with this baby?" Mary asked blankly.

"Babies." Zelda corrected as she puffed at her cigarette nervously. "They are twins. Judas and Leticia. They were born to Faustus and his first wife, Lady Blackwood. She conceived them after some complications and I was asked to be the midwife to the birth and their Night Mother – like a Godmother, I suppose. It was supposed to be two boys. I knew that if Faustus found out that his true firstborn was a daughter then he would harm her so I…I protected her. I hid her from him. I claimed that only Judas had survived. Only, I had to hide Leticia away when it became apparent that it was not safe to have her with me. Faustus found out about Leticia. He was furious with me, so he took the children when he escaped Greendale. Now they are safely returned to us since Faustus is dead."

She explained all of this without looking at Mary. But after several moments of silence she happened to glance at her and saw something akin to admiration shinning in her eyes. "A father who didn't want a daughter."

"Yes." Zelda nodded. "I saved her." She moved to Mary, sat down on the couch beside her and took her hands in her own. "I can understand if you are upset with me, it only happened yesterday and I didn't…"

Mary shook her head. "No. I'm not upset. You…you did what you had to do." Mary looked down at their combined hands.

"Yes, of course. I was only ever looking out for them. I…I loved Letty. I love her." Zelda admitted. The word hard and uncomfortable on her tongue.

Mary smiled up at her, encouragingly. "Then I think it's wonderful that they're in your care."

"You…you do?" Zelda felt the panic that had welled up slowly recede away.

Mary nodded, pulling Zelda's hand up to kiss her palm. "I want to meet her."

* * *

"They say that the Lance of Longinus is housed in Vienna at the Weltliche Schatzkammer, but has been determined that it was actually made over 800 years after Jesus' death so we can safely assume that it was not the _actual_Sword of Longinus. Besides, Charles IV put gold about it, rendering it useless against Satan even if it was the right one." Zelda paced before the fireplace.

"Hitler was very drawn to that sword." Mary added in, having taken to Letty – and Letty instantly smitten having taken to Mary - so that the baby rested peacefully in her arms where she sat on the couch.

"What a cursed object." Sabrina shuddered, pouring over the books which lay open on the coffee table before her.

"Aren't there several other swords that claim to be _the_sword?" Hilda pointed out as she rocked a sleeping Judas in her arms.

"Yes," Mary responded before Zelda could. Zelda felt her heart warm at the intellect of this woman, how quickly she retained information, processed it, accepted it, moved forward. "Yes, there are two others that claim to be the sword. There is a Holy Lance beneath the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, though it is merely ornamental and the Catholic church does not lay claim to the fact that it was _actually_the real lance which was used. And the other is said to be in Armenia."

The room seemed as enraptured by the schoolteacher as Zelda in that moment. "Yes, exactly." Zelda beamed at Mary, was tempted to kiss her right then and there, but instead went to stand behind her. "Only none of them can be dated to the time of Christ's death." She let her hand cover Mary's shoulder, her thumb running over her shoulder. Mary's body welcomed her touch.

"So, then there's no such thing as the Sword of Longinus." Sabrina looked rather dejected.

"Perhaps, but I think people have been looking in the wrong places." Ambrose moved forward, spreading out a map of the Middle East. "Jesus was killed here." His hand moved to just outside Jerusalem. "In Golgotha. The sword would have been standard to the soldiers of Pontius Pilate who was ruling over the Holy Roman Empire from Rome. It would have looked something like this." Ambrose showed them an article that he had sketched. "Made of bronze. I would wager that this particular sword was, in fact, returned to Rome along with the soldiers who executed Christ. But it is most likely not the sword that is on display in the Basilica."

"Is there a way for you to conjure it, to figure out its location?" Mary asked, unaccustomed to how such things might work.

"It's a great feat of magic because we have no connection to the object." Zelda sighed, moving then to sit beside Mary, looking to see that the child in her arms was asleep.

"Aunties," Sabrina looked up. "If I am truly the daughter of the Dark Lord, then would I not have some connection to his creator? Surely my powers might be strong enough to summon this object if I have such a direct bloodline."

Zelda met the worried look on her sister's face, for no one liked the idea of Sabrina's potential parentage. But in this instance, Sabrina had a point. Or at least it was something to move forward with…

"Maybe Roz can help me. Perhaps if she could see…"

"Roz?" Mary was confused by the mention of Sabrina's mortal friend. The poor girl had been through so much lately. Losing her eyesight then gaining it again.

"She has the power of sight, a certain cunning." Sabrina explained to her teacher. "I healed her, I gave her back her eyesight. Which turned out to be some kind of biblical perversion, but now she can see again and she can help. I know she can."

"It's our only hope for now." Zelda conceded. "Let us see if we can locate the true sword."

* * *

A cloud of smoke emitted forth from her mouth, the evening chilly so that it was not only smoke but her own breath that clouded above her. The night was still, the moon beginning to wane. Soon the sky would be dark with a new moon. Nearly a month would have passed since trapping the Dark Lord.

Mary appeared on the porch, a blanket tossed over her arm. "It's cold out." She noted.

The house beside them had settled for the evening, the twins put to bed, Sabrina having gone to town to meet her friends, Ambrose in his room studying Rome, Hilda cleaning the kitchen.

Zelda looked up at her curiously. "I'm sorry for tonight."

"Why ever for?" Mary's smile twisted somewhat.

"I'm certain this was not what you were expecting. I…I feel as if I'm dragging you into too much, I would understand if you were overwhelmed by it all, I…"

"Zelda," Mary reached out a hand for her. "Come for a walk with me."

They walked into the night, moving deeper and deeper into the forest, away from the comfort of the Spellman Mortuary. It had been ages since Zelda had gone wondering about at night. Mary seemed completely at ease in these dark surroundings.

"I never had a family of my own, as you know." Mary spoke as they walked. "It's somewhat…it's refreshing to be surrounded by yours. They're all so darling. Hilda loves you so much. It must be so wonderful to have a sister. And Ambrose is a very intelligent young man. And you know I've always regarded Sabrina very highly. If I were to have a daughter I would like to think she would be like Sabrina." Her arm linked into Zelda's, pulling her closer. "My life has been so gray for so long, Zelda. Please don't apologize for coloring it in."

Zelda turned to smile at Mary. "I was afraid of how you would handle the twins."

"They're darling." Mary admitted.

Zelda laughed, as if releasing the tension and anxiety she had been fighting through all day. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see. Just a little bit further."

And they soon came to a clearing in the woods. It was pristine and full of magic. Zelda could sense it. Years and years of magical rites had taken place in these woods, powerful, loving magic was engrained in the soil, the trees, the sky above them. The energy was so affected that it almost felt warm.

"This was the place." Zelda stepped from Mary's arm, looking around them at the perfect symmetry of the trees. The moonlight washed over them.

"Yes." Mary nodded, following Zelda's gaze up to the moon.

And then, as Zelda stood transfixed, she felt two arms go about her, she felt Mary's lips on her neck, the moon forgotten.

The blanket was spread on the ground, and soon their clothing littered the space about it. The ground gave way to their bodies, softened, cushioned them as they pressed together, exposed to the evening air, to the magic around them. The tastes were heightened in the fresh air, Mary sweet like honey, her skin shimmering, iridescent in the moonlight as if she were glowing. Her hair spread out like Medusa, her lithe body powerful as she wrapped her legs about Zelda like a snake. They wrestled, both powerful in the night, something animalistic in the way Mary reached for her, held her, twisted her, entered her, kissed her. It was uninhibited, moonlit madness. Zelda lost track of the world around her, only the smells of moist dirt, night jasmine, pine, and Mary's scent invaded her, intoxicated her. She was drunk on this Sapphic coupling.

They lost themselves until the moon disappeared and the sky grew periwinkle with the threat of the sun. Oh, if only they could stay in this moment of seclusion…

Mary fell asleep in her arms and she, too stirred, watched the sun rise. She watched as its rays brought color to the world around them.


	12. Chapter 12

Sabrina was pacing in the living room, waiting for Zelda when she and Mary returned from the woods mid-morning. It seemed she wanted to speak to her in private. After some protest from Mary - feeling she had outstayed her welcome - she was coaxed to stay and pulled into the kitchen to help Hilda with the twins. Zelda felt a deep sense of peace knowing that Mary was with them, that she felt at home here, and that her family actually enjoyed Mary in return.

Though something was bothering Sabrina and this concerned Zelda. The young girl - really a woman now - closed the door to the living room, trapping Zelda inside with her. "Were you able to locate the sword?" Zelda asked.

"Yes and no." Sabrina was pacing.

Zelda reached for her cigarettes. "What does that mean?"

"Roz traced its passage but there seems to be some dark magic surrounding it. She only got glimpses of where it may have traveled to. It popped up in several places. Cairo, Cyprus, Berlin, and then she felt it in Rome but it didn't feel quite right so she wonders if it was cursed and made somewhat invisible for centuries to protect its whereabouts."

"Most likely the Dark Lord himself cursed it."

"I want to astral project to where she last sensed it. Harvey was able to draw this from her visions." Sabrina laid the image before Zelda and a chill went down her back. It had to be it. It looked so realistic, faded and battered by the centuries since its creation. And there was a Roman insignia on the base of it.

"Yes, of course. We will protect you while you travel."

"But Auntie," Sabrina looked up, the concern for the swords authenticity apparently not the only issue before them. "There's something else. Roz saw something about the actual killing of Lucifer."

Zelda's brow creased. She leaned forward. "She saw his defeat?"

"Not entirely. But she saw…Ms. Wardwell was there."

Zelda felt her heart beat. She had not intended on bringing Mary into any of this. Perhaps the planning, the preparation but she would be damned if she let Mary go anywhere near the Underworld. This was her mess and her mess alone. "Whatever was Mary doing there?"

"Roz wasn't able to see everything. But…" Sabrina trailed off as if not wishing to speak the words she knew she must.

"What is it?" Zelda demanded impatiently.

"She saw Ms. Wardwell in Lucifer's grasp."

Zelda's blood ran cold. Her heart pounded. "No."

"Auntie," Sabrina reached for the older woman. "It doesn't mean…"

"Mary will not be a part of this." Zelda shook her head. "I forbid her to get anywhere close to the mouth of hell, let alone Lucifer."

"You really care for her, don't you?" Sabrina stared, in awe and yet and bewildered by her aunt's reaction.

Zelda didn't speak. Instead inhaled on her cigarette daintily, staring into the fireplace. "You'll retrieve the sword tonight. We will make a plan to enter into the Underworld. Only necessary people will be included. If it is to be me that must die then I will, but I will not have anyone else harmed." Zelda turned back to Sabrina. "And that includes you."

Sabrina nodded, slowly but surely moving closer to Zelda until she ended up in her arms as she had when she was a young girl – afraid of a thunderstorm. Only this was not a thunderstorm. This was life or death.

* * *

Mary insisted she stay and watch the retrieval of the sword. They all gathered about the center of the living room – Roz and Harvey and Theo included - and watched as Sabrina disappeared into the void.

Zelda sat smoking away, the knot in the pit of her stomach only growing tighter and tighter with each passing second. Nothing about this felt right. There was a missing piece, for it could not all fall into place so easily.

She glanced across the room from her to where Mary sat, finding her eyes focused on the spot upon which Sabrina had disappeared. Zelda felt her heart twist. Was this some nightmare sent to torture her? Could it be possible that Mary was to be some kind of sacrifice to the Dark Lord?

No, it couldn't be.

Her head pounded.

Mary's eyes flashed to her. She held her gaze and it felt as if she knew what was on Zelda's mind. Her intrigue at the current situation faded into concern for Zelda.

She could feel Roz's eyes on them. She felt exposed. For her weakness was slowly becoming visible.

This was why she never opened up her heart to anyone. People were painful. To love someone was a weakness, it blinded one from their tasks, made one frail and useless. As she felt now. Sitting, waiting for Sabrina to return.

The air around them shifted and suddenly Sabrina came stumbling, tumbling forward, thrust into the room.

Zelda sat forward, waiting for her to recover.

"It's here…here!" Sabrina panted, holding up the rather mundane, rather small looking object. "I had to fight off a snake for it."

Zelda was on her feet, taking the object from her to look it over. It was just like the image Harvey had rendered. There was the insignia on the bottom of it. And it felt warm in her hand. "Are you alright?" She turned back to Sabrina, putting her arm about the girl.

"Yes, yes. I'm fine." And then everyone was crowding around her to congratulate her.

"We must put a protection spell on it until it comes time to use." Zelda insisted, holding it out to Ambrose.

"I will guard it with my life." He assured her, disappearing with the object to make sure that it stayed put. For who knew what demons might stir up at the removal of the sword from its hidden location?

Zelda fought off the chill that crept through her body at the thought of what magic that sword held. It seemed correct, but was it? How would they ever know? It had burned in her hand as she held it, as if it had come straight from the Underworld.

Zelda could hear her heart beating in her ears. The swords retrieval signified that they would soon have to go to battle. She could sense it in her bones.

"Zelda," Mary was beside her. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes. Yes, it's fine." Zelda blithely responded, catching Hilda's worried gaze pointed directly at her over the throng of rejoicing teens. "I think it best that you stay here this evening. There's no telling what we've just unleashed."

Mary opened her mouth, as if she knew that there was more to it than just the sword, but they were suddenly swallowed into the cacophony of people about them and there were not more words spoken between them until much later.

Zelda decided that everyone should remain in the home – for she knew that between the four witches they could defeat anything that might come attached to the sword. So Roz bunked with Sabrina and Harvey and Theo took an adjoining room. Hilda took the twins and Zelda led Mary to a hardly ever used room stuffed away in the East wing of the home. It was rather stately – Zelda had forgotten for she hardly ever came to it. It had been Edward's room for a while. She could feel her brother in its walls. He would protect them, surely.

Zelda flicked her wrist and a fire erupted in the fireplace. Mary jumped beside her.

Zelda went about pulling down the bedsheets, making sure that the room was in order and Mary stood, uncertainly near the door.

"Zelda, what is it?" Mary broke the silence around them.

Zelda came to her. She helped her out of her jacket, slowly unbuttoned her shirt, unable to look her in the eyes as she did so. Mary's hands came to rest over hers, stopping her from going any further. "Stop." And Zelda stopped, stepped away, began undoing the buttons on her own coatdress. "Why are you being so cold?"

"I'm not cold." Zelda sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"You won't even look at me." Mary whispered, fear in her voice.

This caught Zelda's attention and she forced her eyes to Mary's but she found that tears had clouded her vision and she felt foolish.

"Zelda, what is it?" Mary came to her side then, settling on the bed beside her.

"You have to promise me, you _must_promise me, that you will not go anywhere near the mines with us." Zelda's voice was thin.

"But I am a part of this, I want to help…"

"No." Zelda shook her head. "Absolutely not. You will remain here. Out of harm's way."

Mary's brow went up at this. "What has happened?"

"Just promise me. Please." Zelda was not one to beg, but she felt it necessary now. Because she wanted to spare Mary. She felt it was her own fault for involving her as much as she already had. After all Mary had already been through – pulled into this dark mess by Lilith. She should not have to suffer more, least of all at the hands of Lucifer.

Mary made no response. Instead she reached for Zelda's hand, running her fingernails over her arm in an attempt to soothe her. "I wish you would tell me what it is. Is the sword the right one? Is that what you're worried about?"

Zelda's eyes trailed back to the crackling fire. "I don't know."

"What if something –"

"Shh." Zelda shushed Mary for she didn't want to think in such terms. Their time was running short. She could feel it, deeply. "Mary," she turned to her, the woman's eyes worried, fearful. "Mary, I – " Her voice faltered as she felt herself lost in those crystalline Spring day eyes. "I want to hold you. Please, let me."

And Mary obeyed, the two undressing as if siblings and not lovers for their minds were elsewhere. Their naked bodies touched, Mary curling up in Zelda's arms.

And the seconds ticked by – stretched on and on throughout the endless night.

And the house remained quiet.

* * *

Until Zelda awoke with a start at 3:33 on the dot to a blinding light drenching the entire room.

She knew who it was.

Lilith in all her dastardly beauty. Her youth glaring.

Mary lay asleep beside her - undisturbed by this vision who hovered over them. Lilith looked upon Mary's sleeping face. "She is very beautiful. I don't think I gave her nearly enough credit." Lilith mused.

"What do you want?" Zelda adjusted the sheet about Mary, as if wanting to protect her from Lilith's eyes before pulling the sheet higher over herself.

Lilith laughed. "It isn't as if I haven't seen it all before, Zelda."

"Why are you here?" Zelda countered again, fearful of what this visit might herald.

"She will be involved in the reckoning. You must let her be. For she will save you all."

"No." Zelda held firm. "No, I will not let him harm her."

Lilith smiled sadly. "Come Zelda, she holds the key to the Apocalypse."

Zelda's eyes widened. She looked from Lilith to the slumbering form at her side. No, that wasn't right at all. There was no way Mary had anything to do with this. There was no way this woman was her undoing.

"She will save you. And then you will have all the power in the world, Zelda. Isn't that what you want?" Lilith whispered, her finger slowly stroking Mary's cheek.

"Don't touch her." Zelda whimpered, feeling that this moment was perverse. Who was Lilith to say that Mary had to be involved? How dare she insinuate that she had anything at all to do with what had happened. Hadn't she already used her enough? Couldn't the Underworld leave Mary out of this, too? For all Zelda knew Lilith could be cursing Mary as they spoke.

Lilith removed her hand. Her face hardening to Zelda. "Nicholas' flesh is beginning to rot away. There are only a handful of nights left before Lucifer will be free. Two nights from now the gates of the Underworld will come open. You must enter. You must bring Mary."

"But I...no! No, absolutely not!" Zelda cried but the light faded from around them and she was only screaming into the dark empty night and Mary stirred, shaken awake by her cries.

"Zelda! Zelda!" She cried, shooting up in bed, wrapping her arms about Zelda, pulling her tightly against her until Zelda's body went slack in her tight embrace.

She cried into Mary's shoulder, the dark-haired woman's fingers trailing through her hair, rocking her until the tears stopped. She hated herself for being so weak.


	13. Chapter 13

_"Vissi d'arte...Vissi d'amore...non feci mai male ad anima viva..."_

Zelda's head rolled back against the cool lip of the tub. Her eyes closed, consumed by the delectably lush music floating through the room. And though her eyes were closed she could feel Mary watching her.

_"Sempre con fe' sincera la mia preghiera ai santi tabernacoli salì. Sempre con fe' sincera…"_

She could not bring herself to meet Mary's gaze across the candlelit room. She was lost to what the following evening would bring. Visions, though they might lie about outcomes, always came to some kind of fruition.

_"Nell'ora del dolore, perché, perché, Signor, ah, perché me ne rimuneri così?"_

"It's beautiful." Mary whispered at the climax of the aria which played out on the record player.

A tear quivered in Zelda's eye at the beauty of the sound, of what the human voice was capable of. How tormented Tosca was in this final prayer.

"I lived for art, I lived for music," Mary translated. "I always had a sincere faith. In this hour of sadness, why do you forsake me?"

Zelda looked to her bath mate, astonished. "Parli italiano?"

"Un poco." Mary flushed.

"More than a little." Zelda admonished, bringing her cigarette to her lips in its dainty holder. She'd been smoking like a chimney since they awoke that morning. And though she was a witch whose health was hardly deterred by the substance, she felt a certain lightness, a little spin in her head when she sucked in the smoke and then inhaled it decadently to the ceiling.

Mary's gaze on her was filled with concern.

Zelda coughed. "I was at the premiere of Tosca."

"But that was…"

"December of…1899."

Mary's expression turned to one of complete confusion.

Zelda laughed. "Darling, I've been alive since the 1300s."

"You…but…"

"I was cursed – or perhaps charmed – with a life of longevity."

"Then you've lived through nearly every moment in history that I've studied."

Zelda nodded. "And that is perhaps why I believe you can understand me."

Mary stared at her in awe.

"I remember the night Tosca opened as if it were yesterday. I'll never forget it. I cried when she threw herself over the edge to her death. I was in tears for days." Zelda wiped then at her cheeks, affected by the music as she was. "The opera was, as you might imagine, a large gathering for people of my kind. Lucifer has always been dazzled by the opera, he puts them on in large succession, night after night, down in the Underworld. The world of opera is a world where the unreal is made real, where right is wrong, gender swapping, illicit affairs, making bargains with the devil…"

"How very Faustian." Mary leaned forward in the tub, aroused by this new piece of information she'd learned about Zelda. She took Zelda's wrist in her hand, pressing her lips to it before inhaling from her cigarette. Zelda stroked her damp hair, threading her fingers into the tresses so that she could pull Mary back, smoke passing from Mary's lips into Zelda's mouth until theit lips collided together.

"I'm sorry I brought you into this." Zelda whispered, tears threatening again.

Mary shook her head, "I'm not." She kissed her in reassurance, settling back in the tub while with Zelda's hand clasped between her hands, stroking the length of her forearm with her fingernails. "Lilith touched me last night."

Zelda's heart hammered in her chest. She crushed out her cigarette.

"What did she want with me?" Mary wanted to know more than what Zelda had told to her family about Lilith's visit.

Zelda reached for another cigarette, but her hands were wet. She wanted to ignore this very conversation that she had spent the entire day avoiding. Busy as they had been discussing what it was that they would do when they entered the Underworld – Mary conveniently left out of the plan.

"Zelda, please don't lie to me." Mary's voice was stern. Was this the voice she used with her pupils?

"I don't want you involved." Zelda whispered.

"She wants me there." Mary knew it, could sense it hidden between the unspoken words.

Zelda froze, neither wanting to confirm this truth nor deny it for she did not wish to insult Mary's astute intuition.

"Zelda," Mary let her fingers trail down the older woman's arm. "There was something in the Unholy Book that I…"

Zelda glanced at her curiously. This woman and her brain were wondrous.

"Is it true that when a witch is to wed a warlock the Dark Lord may visit the witch on the night before her wedding to…"

Zelda felt her stomach sink at the reference to something that had truly happened to her mere months before. She was instantly transported back to that bedchamber, at Hilda's side, feigning a delight in her fate while all the while internally shrinking away from the touch of the Dark Lord. She had wanted so desperately for him to not show his face and when he had…

She coughed, "yes."

"And when you wed Faustus…"

Zelda lit her cigarette impatiently. "He appeared but…the proceedings were interrupted."

"And you would have…"

"It's a part of the ceremony, a tradition that has held for many, many years…it's not something I could simply ignore, not when I was to become the High Priestess." Zelda spat off as if she had to defend her choice to go through with it.

Mary looked at her sadly. "Sempre con una fede sincera."

"Yes." Zelda wiped at her cheeks. "But no more."

"Zelda, I am going with you."

"You're not." Zelda shook her head.

* * *

If she was going to die then she was going to die looking ravishing.

She swiped the dark red lipstick over her lips, picked up her atomizer and spritzed herself with her dark orchid scent. Her hair hung curled perfectly over her eyes a la Veronica Lake, and she was dressed to the nines in her beloved black.

Mary watched her from the edge of her bed, brow knit with concern. "You cannot keep me here." Mary insisted.

"Please don't make me curse you, darling." Zelda lifted her cigarette from the ashtray.

"You know," Mary stood, coming close to Zelda. She took the cigarette from her. "I was so afraid at first, I didn't think I had the courage at all to help. But you've shown me…" she placed her hand on Zelda's shoulder. Zelda's hand moved to cover hers. "I want to kill him."

Zelda pushed her away and stood then, taking back her cigarette. "He's more powerful than you can possibly know. It's no place for you. And if you insist upon following along then I am going to lock you in this house." And with the snap of her fingers a jolt of magic flashed through the air.

"Zelda, please…I must be there."

"No." Zelda spoke resolutely, any further plea from Mary fell on deaf ears. Zelda completed her rituals and then moved through the house to meet the others in the foyer.

"Ms. Wardwell is coming, isn't she?" Sabrina asked as soon as the pair appeared on the main stairs of the house.

"No, Mary will not be coming along. It is too dangerous. She will watch the twins."

Mary grasped at Zelda's wrist, twirling her around. "It's not right…something doesn't feel right. Zelda, you can't keep me here."

Zelda shook her loose, her heart aching at her mistreatment of this woman but there was simply no other way. She would make her amends once all was right in the world: Lucifer demolished and killed, the Apocalypse staved off.

Hilda looked at her sternly, not liking her sister's behavior at all. But what did it matter what she thought? Dr. Cee was blissfully uninvolved.

"Let us go." Zelda did not look back, could not look back as they left.

Mary was trapped safely in the mortuary.

Four witches were about to attempt to outwit the devil. It seemed impossible.

* * *

"It wasn't very nice of you to leave Ms. Wardwell there like that." Sabrina was the first to shame her as they walked through the forest.

"I wouldn't brooch the subject just now, Cousin." Ambrose pulled Sabrina thankfully away from her aunt.

Hilda came to her side then as they walked forward. She felt her own unspoken judgement, but she also knew that Hilda understood. They went forward in silence into the dusk. Soon night would envelope the forest. Who knew how long they would be trapped in the Underworld. Who knew if they would return?

Zelda felt a painful sensation rip at her chest. She had left Mary without even a word, trapping her in their home. If she never saw her again then Mary's final memories of her would be horrid.

But she could not think about this now. They had a mission to accomplish.

The entrance to the mines laid barren and deserted for the day. They walked forward, laden with their weapons and their magic. A silence settled over them. They descended downwards, down into the cool darkness of the mines. It almost felt peaceful, tranquil to be walking in this stillness. Zelda might have forgotten what it was she was about to do except for the rapid beating of her heart, a whispering in her ear that kept repeating that it was a mistake. A mistake to leave Mary. She should not have left Mary.

_Let her go_. The voice whispered.

They soon found themselves bathed in the glow of the gates to the Underworld. It seemed to sense their presence, for locks released of their own accord and a strong burst of heat seeped through to greet them.

"Now remember our plan." Zelda thought to say, though they had no idea what it was that was awaiting them on the other side of these doors so even having a plan seemed a moot point.

But they moved forward, as if drawn into some dark maze.

There was, at first, a vast dessert, hot sun pounding down on them. And then the sand came up, swallowed them down and for a moment Zelda couldn't breathe. It was mind and body stretching, twisting, warping until they all landed in a dimly-lit dungeon. Red jewels shimmered in the walls. Mist swirled around them, a haunting jazz melody played from an old gramophone.

And then Lilith appeared before them, shining in the light of her bright aura. She did not look pleased. Her lithe form moved forward, strangling Zelda. "I gave you explicit instructions and you did not obey."

"We have the sword." Zelda choked, her grasp tight around her throat.

"Let me see it." She tossed Zelda away from her.

Ambrose looked to his aunt. She shook her head.

"We will defeat Lucifer. Please, take us to him." Zelda righted herself. She did not trust this entity with the sword.

"It will not be possible without her. Why didn't you bring her? After all I did for you." Lilith growled, her attention turned back to Zelda.

"What is it that she would be able to do that we cannot?" Zelda countered.

"It's of no use now. There's no time left." Lilith – as if hearing a faraway voice – turned from the Spellmans. "Come with me."

And they were soon flying down corridors, led deeper and deeper into this cavernous place until they came upon Nicholas' cold, lifeless body lying atop the ground. His skin was rotting in places; he looked as if he was being eaten alive from the inside, and in a way, he was.

Sabrina gasped, covered her mouth, and then stepped forward to see her boyfriend.

"Hilda," Zelda cautioned and Hilda snatched Sabrina away from the boy, holding her at her side. "Release him." Zelda commanded of Lilith.

"Not until you bring me Mary." Lilith held firm. Nicholas' body shifted, stretched out in his ribs.

Zelda watched this movement curiously. "You have no power over whether he escapes or not." She spoke, amused. "Ambrose, release Lucifer."

"Are you certain, Auntie?"

Zelda looked from him to Hilda to Sabrina. They all stood ready. The pieces were sat in place and now the game would begin. "Yes."

Ambrose chanted the unbinding spell and a flash of light shot from Nicholas' chest. The beast, this inhuman man, emerged, rose up to his full height, anger dripping from him. "You!" He bellowed and in an instant Lilith was in his grasp. "You are a traitor. You were to serve me and you disobeyed."

Lilith gasped in his clutch.

Zelda had not expected this turn of events. "Now!" She cried, for Lilith was in danger.

Ambrose pulled the sword from his pocket and the four of them rushed to Lucifer, but it was Ambrose who pierced his side and for a moment – for one second – there was a flash of dark magic that shot them all back against the walls and Lucifer loosened his grip on Lilith, in pain.

"Ah!" He called out, clutching his side, the sword emitting some kind of spark where it pierced him.

They watched, transfixed as he wrestled with the sword, his hands burning each time he tried to pull it away, until suddenly he rose up, pulled himself up to his full height and began laughing.

Zelda felt her stomach bottom out.

"You think you're so clever, don't you? The Sword of Longinus will never be traced by any mortal nor witch nor warlock. I have made that certain. This was a good imitation, of course. Because I created it." He held up the sword triumphantly, his body returned to its Godly splendor. And in the blink of an eye he hurled the sword so that it pierced clean through Lilith.

She fell to the floor, blood pouring from her.

The Spellmans looked to one another. For Hilda was tempted to race to Lilith's side, but that would have put her in danger. Sabrina, too, with restored powers could have healed her, only now the Dark Lord was standing over Lilith looking at the four of them.

"What makes you witches think that you could possibly defeat me? I have given you a world that is magnificent. I have bestowed upon you great powers, given you laws, and beautiful, haunted lives. We can move forward. Sabrina and I can rule together. Don't you wish to join me in this paradise? I am offering you a wonderful life."

And Zelda could only stare, transfixed, upon Lilith's lifeless body. Lilith had been her last hope. Lilith had been in line to take over the throne, to lead the Church in a new direction. And now in the blink of an eye she was dead.

_Let her go_. The voice kept repeating in her head.

"Ah, but who do we have here?" Lucifer's eyes suddenly focused on a spot over the top of Zelda's head.

Her blood ran cold.

She hadn't…but how? How had she escaped?

Lucifer bowed, reaching out a hand for the new arrival as if to welcome her. "Ah, Mary Wardwell. I'm delighted you could join us."


	14. Chapter 14

"I-I don't think we've formally met before." Mary's quiet voice quivered ever so slightly from behind Zelda. Whatever was she trying to do?

"No," Lucifer amended. "I suppose I knew you in another form. Yes, we knew one another. Very well, in fact."

"While I-I was L-lilith?" Her small, timid voice against Lucifer's boisterous tenor set Zelda's body on high alert.

"Why of course. I had to pick a stunning human for her to live inside, so why not the enchanting Ms. Wardwell." He was beside her then before Zelda could stop it. Zelda lifted her hand but her magic seemed frozen, her body seemed frozen. The Spellmans had been put into a binding curse, unable to move, yet able to see and hear everything. Zelda could only watch on in despair as Lucifer trailed his hand over Mary's cheek. Zelda watched her flinch, her hands flying to her glasses to straighten them, uncomfortable with his touch.

"Ah, but you did not choose me for those reasons." Mary's voice grew the slightest bit bolder.

Lucifer looked taken aback for a split second. "What do you mean?"

"I may be many things but I've never been stunning, as you say." Lucifer looked as if he might dispute this fact but Mary continued on. "That's not to say I'm unattractive but I've always had this rather angular face." Zelda's worry morphed into confusion as she listened to Mary go on, amused by her ramblings before the Dark Lord. Whatever was she doing? "No, you chose me because I didn't choose myself. I let the years go by. I lived alone, stuck in that lonely cottage surrounded by the woods. I was invisible and you needed someone who was invisible."

"Smart, aren't you? I can see why my fair Lilith thought to bring you back. She had so hoped you would beat everyone to me so that she could take my place. Such a shame her fate was not thus. And I'm afraid you shall have to meet a similar fate."

Zelda tried to cry out, to move forward but it was as if she were in another dimension entirely. She wanted to get Mary away from him, out of this place, but she was completely stuck, rendered helpless, useless, and she despised it.

"And the great part about killing you is that no one will miss you. You're right, Mary. There is no one out there who cares for you. You are alone in this world." Lucifer would torture her before he killed her. And Zelda would have to watch.

Unless Sabrina put an end to this by agreeing to rule beside him, Zelda knew that he would prey on whomever or whatever may hurt the Spellmans. He knew Sabrina had an affinity for her teacher. He knew that the more time Nicholas sat rotting on the ground the less likely he was to live. He was going to take his sweet time with Mary and overcome her, break her down.

And Zelda, being unable to do anything, would slowly be gutted by her weakness. Her Mary.

Why had she come?

"You're wrong about that." Mary spoke more firmly than she had before. Zelda's heart hammered in her ears. What was she doing?

"Am I?" Lucifer paced before her, like a cat toying with its prey.

"I have people who care about me."

"Whoever might you be talking about?" Lucifer paused in his pacing. "Zelda Spellman?"

Mary stayed silent, shuffling uncomfortably from foot to foot. Zelda's spine prickled.

"You can't possibly think that she truly cares about you." Lucifer was pacing again, he spoke as if Zelda was not right there before the two of them, listening, looking. "Look at her. She's not coming to your rescue now, is she?"

Mary did not look at Zelda. She stared at Lucifer, watched him as he moved from side to side. "But you're preventing her from moving, aren't you? You've put a spell on her."

"Don't you think she could break free if she wanted to? Just as you broke free of her curse to follow her here?"

Mary considered this. "Possibly, but the way I see it, your powers are stronger than hers, I would presume. And I was only able to break free because the curse fell from the house. She must have uncursed it or her powers were rendered useless when she entered the Underworld." Mary reasoned.

Lucifer did not like this rebuttal. "Let me ask you this, Ms. Wardwell. Has she ever said that she really cared for you?" He moved close to her, so very close to her. "Has she ever told you that she loves you?"

Mary pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. This time her eyes did meet Zelda's for a brief moment and Zelda wanted to scream. She wanted to tell her to get out while she could. She wanted to demand from her what had possessed her to follow them here and put herself in this danger. But Mary's brief glance stayed steady, as if telling Zelda that all was well. That things were going to be fine. And Zelda was taken aback by this wave of strength pooling in those celestial blues.

Mary squared her shoulders. "Has she said that she loves me?" She repeated the question, returning her attention to Lucifer.

"Yes, for if two people were to truly love one another then they would say so. And she has not said this."

He was reading her mind. He was raking through her thoughts, finding her insecurities, her weaknesses. Zelda knew this instinctively. He was trying to cut her down at her weakest points.

And Zelda had failed her because she had never been one to so easily say _that_hollowed word. But surely Mary knew. In all their moments, in her touches, in her caresses, in the way she held her in the night…

She should have said it…if only she had…

"Is this like the love that you felt for Lilith?" Mary's voice was soft, yet did not waiver.

"Whatever are you talking about? Lilith was sent to serve me."

"She healed you. She mended your broken wings and you laid with her for years. She loved you…I…I know she loved you."

"She wanted my power." Lucifer growled.

"Perhaps in the end she did want to be recognized for what it was that she did for you. You promised her that she would sit at your side and rule the kingdom together and yet…you did not follow through on your promise."

"How dare you question what I've done? Every step I've taken has been calculated, it has been for the good of my people. I created Sabrina, I brought her into this world so that she might better serve beside me when the end times came. When the mortals were brought into our world. She would know how to lead them. She _will_know how to lead them. Sabrina _will_rule beside me and I will treat her as a queen. Lilith was disposable, useless once she brought Sabrina to me."

"Lilith had a mind of her own. Just like Sabrina has a mind of her. A very keen mind. She's highly intelligent, thinks for herself, goes out of her way to help others…that's why she was so easily led to you. She wanted to help her friends and you knew that her kind heart would be her weakness." Mary summarized, not an ounce of fear dripped from her. She stood, as if standing before a classroom of misbehaving students. Calm, self-assured. "But she will not suffice as a leader at your side. She's been raised to be a free thinker and she simply could not possibly rule over people in the way that you do. Besides, you couldn't possibly handle someone who would not submit to you. As Lilith so, unfortunately, did."

"Silence!" Lucifer cried out, sending Mary falling into the stone wall behind her, his arms at either of her sides.

How was she remaining untouched? Zelda could not fathom what it was that was protecting Mary, keeping Lucifer from ripping her apart.

"What do you know about love anyway?" Mary needled, as if unafraid. "You think it's love to sleep with every devoted witch on the eve of their weddings? You think that that is love for your followers, your worshipers?"

"They are blessed by my visit."

"And the groom is given free rein to sleep with whomever he pleases but the witch must submit to you. How is this loving?" Mary questioned the Unholy Bible's logic and in this question Zelda knew that she was standing up for her as she had not been able to do for herself.

"It is ritual. The devout witches welcome me."

"Not all of them do." Mary spoke over him.

"I've never had one complain."

"Because they wouldn't. They're loyal to you and are afraid to question your presumed power." Mary spat.

"Those who are loyal to me are blessed beings. Anyone should be happy to be a member of the Church of Night and as such they welcome me to them. Men and women alike."

"Just as Lilith should have been happy to serve you and now she lays dead?" Mary pointed to the corpse on the ground, life having passed out of the enchantress, long past saving.

Lucifer's face was inches from Mary's. "You think you're so pure and righteous, but we both know what you did. What you willed to happen."

Mary shook her head.

"You wanted him to die."

"_I _did not kill him. The mine collapsed."

"Perhaps your God was answering your prayers." Lucifer smirked.

"I have no God." Mary sneered. "My father was a terrible man who beat and raped my mother. I only wished for her to have a happier life. If he had gone away and never come back that would have suited me just fine. I didn't _ask_for him to die."

"Yet, you were relieved by his death. You felt vindicated."

"No, I felt bereft and awful. For years. I felt unloved and alone. Even with my mother." Mary admitted.

"Your mother never loved you."

Mary took a deep breath. "Perhaps not. She always wanted a boy. If I had been a boy then perhaps my father wouldn't have…" She trailed off, as if not even present to the current situation, the dangers it might possess.

"No one has ever shown you love."

"That's not true, though." Mary moved from Lucifer's grasp.

Was he losing? What the hell was happening?

"It may have taken me a few years but I have learned that I love myself. And doesn't that count for something?" Mary looked as if she were suddenly taller than Lucifer.

"What the heavens are you doing?" Lucifer cried out in pain.

"I may no longer believe in the Catholic Church, nor any such religion, but it did teach me something very valuable. Something cannot have power over you if you don't let it."

Lucifer hissed.

"You may have gotten away with much over these last millennia, perhaps it was because of your good looks that so many people bowed to you in the beginning. Perhaps your charisma charmed and delighted people. But we are waking up to your nonsense. It's been too long, _too_long since men like you have thought they needed to be worshiped and exalted. I've come to find that men are greedy, insincere, insecure, frightened beings. You are the worst of all for you have great power over the world, great influence over so many people. But if we stop believing in you…if we stop giving you that power, then you have no power. You are rendered helpless and therefore you no longer exist."

Lucifer lurched for Mary but he grasped the empty air before her.

"You sorceress." He jeered.

"Hmm? No, no. I'm only a mortal." Mary watched as Lucifer's form shrunk further towards the ground. "This doesn't exist. None of this exists, just as God up in heaven is only a figment of someone's imagination. Does the world have a soul? Certainly. You can feel it in the middle of nature. There is magic. Everywhere. I've known that since I was young. But the idea of polarities, of good and bad, of heaven and hell, of Satan and of God? This black and white thinking will no more serve the world. It's old, it's tired. There's more. So much more."

Zelda felt her body coming unstuck. Her limbs slowly beginning to move of their own free will. She looked to her sister, to Ambrose, to Sabrina, all equally stunned before her as they watched Lucifer shrink further and further down.

"He's weak." Ambrose spoke.

Sabrina stepped forward, raising her hand to send a jolt straight through Lucifer's heart and he shriveled up before disappearing into the marble floor.

And Zelda felt her head start to pound, as if her body had released its tension all at once. And when she looked up to find Mary, for she _needed _to see her, she found that they were all in the darkness of the woods, surrounded by fresh air, the waning moon, and a sky full of stars above them. A breeze whispered through her hair and Mary's blue eyes were upon her.

Sabrina rushed to Nicholas' side, put her hands upon him so that his skin began to heal itself back together. Hilda went to Ambrose, clasping at him as if making sure he was okay.

And Zelda…Zelda wasn't quite sure what it was that had just happened, nor what it was she should do.

Mary. Mary was looking at her through those serene, powerful blue eyes.

"You…" Zelda whispered, speechless. "But how…"

Mary stepped towards her and, in the moonlight, Zelda saw just how much her hands were shaking, how afraid she had been that whole time, yet she had been so strong. So unbelievably strong. How had she known? How had she so selflessly involved herself and stood up to him? Without even laying a hand on him or threatening him with any sort of violence. It was only within her own lack of belief that everything had simply disappeared. So easy, so simple…

And now…now the world was devoid of Lucifer and Lilith and what kind of world would that be?

They were still there. They still existed. They were still flesh and bone. Magic still existed. Mortals and witches still existed. The world was still present. Nothing had changed.

Only everything had, and it made Zelda dizzy so that she nearly fainted, but Mary caught her, held her up.

And Zelda grasped for Mary and Mary's shaky arms reached around her and they held on to one another, Zelda so in awe, so dumbstruck by what Mary had just accomplished and there were no words, no words at all to express what it was she had just witnessed, what they had all witnessed.

Lucifer had never mattered. The Church had never mattered.

This…Mary's arms, Mary's lips against her cheek, the midnight moon, the wind rustling the leaves above them, her family safe, alive…this was what she had always needed.


	15. Chapter 15

They walked quietly through the woods, as if in a trance. Disbelief and awe clung to them.

And Zelda was weak in the knees, could hardly stand so that she leaned against Mary as they moved through the forest.Her headache was splitting, her stomach twisted. She was supposed to be the leader, to have the power and she had stood motionless, unable to move, to control her powers while Mary had saved them all. And she had very nearly prevented it from happening by trying to trap her away when she had been the key all along.

Zelda had been helpless. Utterly useless in the grand scheme of things. Whatever had made her think she could possibly defeat Lucifer, let alone be placed in a position of power? She had failed them all as a leader. She had gained her title through lies, through deceptions. She was no leader, no High Priestess. She was hardly worthy of this woman who now walked beside her, lost in her own train of thoughts, her arm still shaky where it braced Zelda.

She had been so meek, so afraid of everything and now she had grown into herself. Even though she looked so uncertain, so unassuming, and though her body may tremble, she was strong. Stronger than Zelda had ever known.

This woman was a delightful mystery.

It was a welcome sight to see their home still standing as it came into view on the horizon. How surreal to know that it still existed when hell no longer did.

And as they moved towards the edge of the forest to return to their property, Zelda felt a wave of nausea overcome her so that she had to bend over, Mary holding her hair, Hilda running circles over her back until she vomited. It felt like rocks were coming out of her stomach, it burned her throat.

She coughed terribly and Mary and Hilda had to help her the rest of the way home. She felt ridiculous for being rendered so weak and helpless. Only further proving her incompetence.

They all gathered in the living room as if they couldn't stand to be apart from one another. And it only seemed logical for they had just witnessed a grave trauma, their lives put into extreme danger. Anything could have happened. Sabrina sat in Nicholas' embrace, Harvey and Roz on the ground before them, Theo beside Ambrose in adjoining chairs, and Zelda resting her throbbing head atop Mary's legs on the couch across from them. Mary's fingers brushed through her hair. They were all of them stunned, speaking quietly to one another.

And Zelda felt hopeless, heavy, upset with herself, yet she also was in awe of Mary and her bravery. She had been so courageous. She had done it all. How had she known what to do?

She glanced up at Mary, "you were so brave. How did you...how did you ever know?"

"Yes, Ms. Wardwell. How did you know he could be defeated like that?" Sabrina asked, all eyes on their momentary savior.

And Mary was uncomfortable under their glances. "I-I didn't." She answered honestly.

"Oh come now," Zelda chided.

"Zelda, this will help with the pains." Hilda interrupted, coming into the room with a pot of tea and biscuits for everyone. She poured a cup for her sister and Zelda eased up, taking the cup graciously. Her stomach knotted deeper as she drank. What was this horrid pain?

Mary glanced to her as she drank, worry on her brow.

Zelda took her hand in reassurance. "How did you know? And however did you even get out of the house?"

"It was true what I said. The spell dropped and I went after you."

"I had a firm grasp on the house, it shouldn't have...unless..." Zelda frowned, glancing to her sister then to her niece.

"Did Lilith set her free?" Sabrina asked, finishing her aunt's thought.

"Perhaps so." Mary pondered this.

"Did Lilith know that you would be able to defeat Lucifer?" Sabrina questioned. "Did she come to you and ask for Mary, Auntie Zee?"

"There were…visits. Yes." A flash of Mary possessed by Lilith in her dreams ricocheted through her memory. She could almost feel the sting of the riding crop. Her stomach twisted, contracted. "She seemed to want me to get near Mary, but I refused to involve her, I didn't know…"

"Lilith instructed you to bring Mary?" Sabrina was not going to let Zelda talk her way out of this so easily.

"Well," Zelda glanced to Mary unsteadily, "yes. I suppose you could say that, but I did not want to…I never wanted any harm to come to her."

"How would Lilith have known that Mary could defeat Lucifer?"

"She was inside of me. For months. I'm sure that she felt closest to me. Perhaps she understood me, felt that this was something I could do." Mary offered as a suggestion. "I also did a great deal of research. I found that Lucifer did not like to be crossed. He could use your mind against you, make you believe all kinds of lies about yourself, about others. I knew I would have to outwit him because he could not handle anyone outsmarting him. It was his weakness. It lessoned him. I thought of him like a teenage boy in one of my classes and he seemed less and less intimidating. Besides, no one can insult me more than I can insult myself."

Zelda clasped her hand tighter. "Darling, you were marvelous. Your research paid off. I just can't believe it was so simple."

"Oh, no. Please don't think that it was any great feat. I was only able to do so because I do not possess your magic. You were too strong to defeat him, I am convinced of this. I think Lilith knew this."

_Strong_? She was _too_strong? "I was useless." Zelda sighed.

Mary shook her head, looking to Zelda. "No. You helped me to believe in myself again and that was what I needed. Don't you see?"

Zelda's heart pounded in her chest. She would have kissed the woman had she not just emptied the contents of her stomach only moments earlier, so that instead she felt a tear well in her eye and she clasped Mary's hand tighter in her own.

"You know," Mary clasped her hand back and reached for her own cup of tea. "Lilith is a curious creature. Have you ever studied her in depth? I mean from her Jewish origins?"

"The story of her as the fallen Eve?" Hilda offered and all eyes turned to their aunt. She laughed nervously and then frowned at them. "I did my fair share of learning history. I'm not just a kitchen witch."

Zelda smiled at her sister. "Yes, we do know of how she loved Adam first but was cast out of the Garden of Eden because she would not submit to Adam nor God. She was too strong willed, too intelligent and so she was perceived of as a threat." Zelda offered.

"Then she was sent down to Hell and came upon Lucifer and healed him. But there's more to her story than this." Mary cleared her throat. "There is a vastly... sexual...side to Lilith, it's dark sexuality. I believe the stories were a way to shame men, this threat of Lilith coming to them in the night, taking their wasted semen for herself so that she could create hundreds of little demons that would then be killed daily. There is a side to her that taunts and torments mankind."

"She was thought to be the reason babies died." Hilda offered. "It's why we place the red ribbon on the basinets, to ward her away."

"Why yes, I'd forgotten about that lore." Zelda sipped her tea. Why wasn't it settling her stomach?

"I think there was more to Lilith then that, though." Mary was gazing off into the distance, perplexed by the entity.

"Do you remember things from when she was inside of you?" Theo asked.

Mary glanced at her pupils, looking a bit uncomfortable being so personal with all of them. Though they had all just gone through so much together that the teacher/student line had blurred. "It's not so much clear memories, only…thoughts. Abstract as they may seem. Sometimes a feeling will come to me in the middle of the night, as if she's there. Looking out for me."

"She cared for you. She brought you back." Sabrina smiled. "I thought perhaps it was for me, but maybe she knew all along. Maybe she knew you would help us."

"I think she learned a lot from all of us. I sensed that her time here changed her." Mary spoke softly.

They were quiet for a moment. The reality and gravity of the situation beginning to sink in. "She's gone." Zelda exhaled. And then her stomach contracted again, pain ripping through her.

"Zelds, are you alright?" Hilda was at her side, feeling her cheeks.

The pressure in her throat alerted her to the fact that she was quite not alright. She covered her mouth, shaking her head, tears threatening to fall in her eyes. And then she was up on unsteady legs, falling forwards towards the powder room. Hilda was hot on her heels, Mary close behind.

She threw up, eyes closed at first as the painful sensation tore through her throat. But when her watery eyes opened and she saw the blackened, dirty, dry clumps of blood she started vomiting again. Harder and harder, her throat on fire, tears streaming down her face until she could only dry heave and then she fell back against the wall. "What…is that…" she rasped, her voice gravelly, her throat wrecked.

Hilda was standing stunned in the doorway, Mary at her side trying to console her, but equally horrified.

"Uh, uh – well, love. Nothing to worry about. Let's just…uh, we'll get you in a nice hot bath and then put you to bed and you'll be as good as new in the morning. Right?" Hilda was trying to sound cheerful but the terror was laced in her voice. "It's all okay, lovey. I'll just…just brew you some more tea."

"It didn't help." Zelda moaned, her stomach contracting again. She didn't want more of that filth to come up. She couldn't possibly handle it so she closed her eyes and willed it to stay down.

"I'll make something new, something better. Mary, Mary will you help me get her into the bath?"

And Mary just nodded, deep concern wrinkling the place between her eyes. She and Hilda lifted Zelda and took her up the stairs. Hilda left Mary to undress Zelda as the water ran in the tub, hot and steaming with some Epsom salt and eucalyptus. Zelda's body melted down into the water, Mary rolled up her sleeves so that she could massage Zelda's arms, her neck, her head.

"What is happening, Zelda?" Mary whispered, pressing a kiss to her temple.

Zelda shook her head, her stomach twisting, the pains coming closer and closer together.

The dreams…the dreams were coming back to her. The torture, the pain, the sweet release when _she_had finally, finally entered her…

Zelda's heart leapt in her chest. Her eyes flew open.

"Mary, Mary!"

"What, what is it?"

"I need Hilda, I need…" Zelda felt nauseous again.

Hilda happened into the bathroom with a fresh brew of tea on a tray. "What is it, love?" She settled the tray down on the vanity and came to Zelda's side, wiping at her tears. "What is it?"

"Hilda," Zelda whispered. "Hilda, there's something inside of me."


	16. Chapter 16

"What do you mean? It happened in a dream?" Hilda's hands were on her sister's stomach, examining her.

Zelda felt ridiculous. For though she had never been pregnant herself, she should have easily recognized the symptoms of labor. The cramping, the abdominal pain, the upset stomach. She was a Midwife for crying out loud, she should have _known_or suspected that something like this might have happened. The gestation period was abnormal though, for the dream had come only weeks before.

And she knew beyond a reason of a doubt that Faustus had not impregnated her. Her womb was no longer serviceable for children. A doctor had once told her that. She had been upset for only a day and then realized that having a child was the furthest thing from her plans for her life. Besides she had practically raised Ambrose and Sabrina – however maternal she was _not_, she still felt she had a hand in it.

No, this was something else entirely.

And she did not want to explain this in front of Mary. But there she sat, on the edge of the bed with Zelda's hand clasped tightly in her own, stroking her cheek every so often to rid it of Zelda's perspiration.

A rolling pain worked its way up from her center, making her feel as if she might vomit again. She squeezed Mary's hand through the pain. "I don't know how to describe it, Hilda. There was a dream, one in particular, in which Lilith came to me. Oh God," she rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "Lilith was tormenting me by shape-shifting into Mary. She was…playing with me, trying to get me to admit to my powerful aspirations. And when I did…when I submitted to her, she…there was an entity that…she was inside of me."

Hilda looked up at her sister. "That was the morning that I found you bleeding."

"Zelda!" Mary cried. "Why didn't you tell me any of this?"

"Well I hardly knew what it was we were doing at the time. I didn't want to upset you. I thought I would suffer in silence, I thought…"

"That's what gave you those bruises." Mary remembered them vividly.

"Those were nasty gashes. She was really hurting you." Hilda also remembered these nights.

"She made you bleed?"

Zelda nodded, another wave of pain shooting through her. "I felt something within me, growing, but I didn't suspect…I thought it might help defeat Lucifer, I never thought it would…" Zelda had to stop because the pain was unbearable.

"Zelda, love, we're going to have to get this out of you." Hilda could tell that whatever it was was harming Zelda and the longer it was inside of her the worse the pain would get. It wanted to come out. This seemed clear.

"I'm going to consult with Ambrose about the best way to do this. There's no telling what will come out, we need to be prepared for anything." Hilda removed her hands from her sister and poured her a steaming cup of tea. "Drink this. I'll be right back." She cupped Zelda's cheek in her hand lovingly and Zelda thought of their mother in that moment. How caring and loving she had been. How Hilda was so very like her. Zelda missed her mother in that moment and she hated herself for being so childish.

Hilda went away and Mary remained, but Zelda felt she could not meet her eyes. She was, for the first time in a while, embarrassed. For she had had to come out with it, she had had to tell just what it was that had been in her dreams and they were so dark. Much darker than what Mary was capable of. They were horrible, nightmarish in their level of torture and Zelda hated herself for having enjoyed them.

"They were only dreams." Mary seemed to read her mind. She lifted a wet washcloth from a basin and rung it out, placing it over Zelda's forehead.

"It was real. So real she was able to do this to me." Zelda sighed.

"I imagine she was capable of climbing into your dreams and blurring the line of physical and imagined. But you were not aware, Zelda. It's different."

Zelda looked to Mary. "Are you implying that Lilith raped me?"

"In a way it could be viewed like that." Mary pushed Zelda's hair back from her sweaty shoulders.

"It's different…it was different." Zelda felt her cheeks coloring.

Mary looked at her. "You enjoyed it."

Zelda laughed. "Of course I did…" Her voice diminished at the admission.

"Was it because she was in my form?"

Zelda shrugged.

"Is that why you wanted to be with me?"

Zelda frowned. She reached for Mary, pulled her hands away from her and forced her to look her in her eyes. "No. Being with you had nothing to do with Lilith. I was drawn to you. Not because of those dreams. I knew the difference between you and that version of you."

Mary bowed her head, pushing her glasses up her nose. How adorable she was.

"You're so beautiful, Mary." Zelda sighed before another pain ripped through her and she had to clasp onto Mary's hands tighter.

Mary's brow furrowed. "I wish Hilda would come back." She worried her lip.

"She'll be back, she'll know what to do." Zelda assured Mary, bringing her hand to her lips to kiss it.

* * *

Zelda felt utterly ridiculous laid out as she was atop her bed with Ambrose and Hilda and Mary looking on – thank whatever entity there was to thank that Sabrina and her friends were also not included in this little séance.

Hilda dutifully sat at the bottom of the bed and Ambrose stood back, prepared for whatever it was that they might pull from Zelda. And Mary, her darling Mary, sat beside her, holding her hand as the pains came swifter and faster than they had before.

Ambrose and Hilda chanted the spell to release whatever it was that was trapped inside of her, pressing fervently, trying to get out now. And Zelda bore down hard, feeling the thing tearing through her.

Hilda reassured her with a gentle stroke to her leg, acting the perfect midwife. Which would have been reassuring if this had been an actual child being born, but alas nothing was normal about this. Zelda cursed Satan the entire time, growling in pain as she pushed this _thing_out of her. It felt as if the torment may never end. Time was at a standstill and each second was filled with agony.

And finally, finally something emerged, something intangible, an enigma of the strangest variety and Zelda fell back on the bed, exhausted, spent, unable to withstand any more. She felt the blood rush from her cheeks, lightheaded, body drained.

"What is it?" Ambrose cried, a bright light emitting from whatever it was that Hilda had in her hands. She sat it on the ground, standing back to form a block around the object with Ambrose, her hands full of Zelda's blood.

And Mary hovered over Zelda, her only concern wasZelda. She wiped at her cheeks with the washcloth. "Stay with me, Zelda." Was all Zelda could hear, her ears feeling as if they had cotton in them, her eyes fighting to stay open. "Zelda, stay awake, Zelda!" Mary kept speaking to her and she fought to keep her eyes open.

The light was so bright, so pure. Zelda could make it out and suddenly it was shifting, changing forms.

"What the hell is that?" Zelda rasped, grasping onto Mary for she was disoriented but afraid for Mary's safety even then. She knew Hilda and Ambrose could stand up to whatever had just come out of her, but she would protect Mary. And perhaps Mary would protect her.

The figure shifted and formed of its own accord, taking its time to stretch out until the outer layer of mucus slipped away and they all stood in awe as the shape of a woman appeared before them.

The magic fizzled away, revealing long, dark, soft locks of hair, a long, brilliant face, high cheekbones, dark chocolate eyes, pert, red lips, a long slender neck, two beautiful breasts, a slender waist that fluttered out to wide hips, long, lean legs.

A fully formed woman had just emerged from Zelda. She felt as if she might vomit again.

And she was not only beautifully gorgeous but she was at least fifty years old – though if she were a sorceress there was no telling how old she might truly be. But this woman was not a girl, not a babe straight from the womb, she was fully formed and she stood before them naked, body awakening as if it had been in a deep sleep.

She looked about the room, taking in the shocked faces around her and instead of looking bashful about her naked state she simply laughed. "Well I had to survive somehow. There's no need to look so alarmed, I won't harm you." She ran a hand through her hair and glanced at Ambrose and Hilda.

Zelda squinted, still so weak. Could it be? But that was impossible. She had been so young, so very young in her dreams.

"Yes, I know." The woman nodded in agreement at the confusion in the room. "When I was in Hell Lucifer kept me as young as possible. Perhaps he, like so many men today, didn't want the threat of an older woman but you can't have survived as long as I have and not be somewhat aged."

"L-Lilith?" Zelda felt her heart pounding.

"Why darling, yes, of course." Lilith smiled.

Zelda's eyes went wide and she felt like she might faint. And she could feel Mary's gaze upon the woman before them, eyes looking at Lilith's long, lean curves.

"Uh, uh, would you like a robe, love?" Hilda nervously asked.

And Lilith looked down at herself as if just noticing her nakedness. "Ah, I suppose. I'll never understand why humans became so fearful of their own bodies."

Hilda tossed Lilith one of Zelda's robes and the creature put it on, flipping her long mane of hair over the edge of it. She settled atop the bed on Zelda's other side and let her hand come to rest on Zelda's thigh. "I'm very sorry for the pain I put you through, but it was the only way. You see, you wanted the power and now you have it. You have it all. I used every last ounce of what I had in order to regenerate. It's not something I could do so easily, but in order to survive Lucifer I needed to recreate myself."

"You…you're powerless?" Zelda inquired.

"I'm afraid so." Lilith nodded, reaching for Zelda's cigarette box. She helped herself to a cigarette, lighting it and inhaling a long drag. Everyone watched her, breathless. Her eyes wandered to Mary. "You know, you are very gorgeous. I do wish you'd just let your hair down though."

Mary flushed beside Zelda. Whatever was happening? Zelda's head was spinning. This felt like a terrible nightmare. "But," Zelda cut in, feeling awkward trapped between Lilith and Mary – Mary with her jaw practically on the floor. "How did you know to involve Mary? Did you know the whole time that this was going to happen? What do you mean that I'm powerful?"

Lilith's eyes returned to Zelda. "Darling, there's plenty of time to explain it all to you. But I've just gone through quite a trip and I need to rest. As I'm sure you do. Hilda will have you all cleaned up and healed in no time, I imagine. Please, darling," Lilith leaned down and stroked Zelda's cheek, "don't be cross with me." She pressed her lips to the spot on Zelda's cheek that she had just touched and Zelda felt she could not be mad at her.

She had done what she needed to survive. "No, no. I'm not." Zelda spoke breathlessly.

"Good, darling. I shall retire now. Anywhere will suffice." Lilith stood from the bed awaiting her bunking assignment.

"Uh, yes. Right, well you can sleep in the room right across the hall." Hilda jumped to, escorting her as if she were a regular house guest.

Zelda and Ambrose exchanged confused looks and then Ambrose pointed towards the door. "I'm just going to…"

Zelda nodded and then eased back into the bed. She couldn't look at Mary.

Whatever had just happened?


	17. Chapter 17

The sun had come, seeping hazily in through the curtains of Edward's room. The sun's rays were already warm where they splattered across Zelda's tired body. She shifted in the bed, distinctly remembering that she had fallen asleep beside Mary but now the bed beside her was empty. She groped at the sheets blindly, searching for her body, but finding that she was missing entirely.

The faint hint of cigarette smoke swirled about in the room. Zelda's eyes flashed open. Was Mary out of the bed smoking? She had certainly put her through enough in the last twenty-four hours, but why had she left the bed?

"She had to go to school, darling." That voice, smoky and deep, made Zelda sit straight up in the bed. Her nightshirt barely covered her so that she pulled the sheets up around her body, fearful. "I didn't mean to scare you." Lilith tapped off the ashes of her cigarette and stood, her body unfolding majestically. She came to sit on the edge of the bed. "She didn't want to wake you after all that you went through last night. I convinced her you'd be asleep for a long while."

"Wh-what time is it?" Zelda glanced around, disoriented.

"Almost noon." Lilith inhaled on her cigarette and looked Zelda over. "She really cares about you, this Mary Wardwell."

"Yes, yes. I really…I really care about her as well." Zelda fidgeted, reached for her cigarette holder.

"Zelda Spellman, not one to ever say that she loves anyone, is that right?"

Zelda lit up her own cigarette and puffed irritably. "I think you have some explaining to do. I mean, you could have told me what it was you were planning."

"Well, certainly, but I wasn't sure if it would be necessary until the time came." Lilith toyed with the sheets.

"I don't – " Zelda ran a hand through her disordered hair. "I don't understand what has just happened. How the heavens was Mary able to defeat Lucifer?"

"Well, that is quite a good question, my dear. She was just perfect for it and she had just a little bit of me left inside of her. Just enough to help her remain levelheaded. Lucifer hated anyone who could outwit him. Mary was correct in this. She seemed to know that that would be the way to defeat him. Your magic was too powerful to go against his. He could have matched you every step of the way, but the mind…well, darling, the mind is a powerful thing." Lilith reached forward, pushed a red strand of hair behind Zelda's ear as if to accentuate the point.

"I have a mind of my own." Zelda turned away from Lilith, uncomfortable by her warm touch, the way she so caringly caressed her. There might have been some moment in her life that she would have welcomed these advances, but now…

"Yes, of course you do! And it will be put to use now. You are the High Priestess and everyone is going to look to you for direction. Once word of hell's destruction has spread you will be sought after to lead the masses but it will not be as it once was."

"Certainly not." Zelda agreed, a fear tearing through her. For she realized she was very nearly all alone now in all of this.

Lilith took her hand, "come now. You're not alone. I'm right here. Mary's here as well. Though that delightful woman is a mortal she's an absolute necessity to this new world."

"What has happened though? Is this this Apocalypse come to fruition? Are we stuck in some limbo now?"

"No. Nothing of the sort. Lucifer is gone. Hell has vanished. There is no threat to us nor the mortals who inhabit this world. But there is still magic and we must find a way to honor and protect that magic."

"What of all the old traditions, the laws, the rules…"

Lilith laughed as she tossed back her head to exhale a stream of smoke. "Zelda, Zelda. Always abiding by the rules. Never a misstep, never a mistake."

Zelda felt her cheeks grow red. Was Lilith mocking her? "And so what?" Zelda spat.

"It's neither good nor bad, but those rules don't exist anymore." Lilith grinned at this news. "I've been waiting ages for this day to come. Oh, Zelda. Don't you see. We're going to create something new and wonderful."

Zelda's head spun. "Lilith, I…I'm not powerful enough for this."

"Oh, darling. Don't you doubt yourself. You know, that has always been your weakness. You could have been so much more within the Coven but it took you absolutely ages to finally stand up and take what was rightfully yours. You should have had Faustus' position years ago. He was a fraud, a fluke, a traitor to all."

"Then why did I have to marry him…" Zelda sighed.

"Those are the old ways and we shall form new ways. Because you were meant for this position, Zelda. Lucifer feared you, feared what you might bring to this world. And he feared Sabrina. He would have squelched her spirit if she had agreed to rule beside him. He was afraid that she was half-mortal. He wasn't sure what she would be capable of. He lived for years in fear of her."

"Why wasn't she able to defeat him?"

"In a way she did, when she was able to bring herself back to life." Lilith tried to explain. "No, Lucifer could have outwitted any of you, it had to have been someone innocent, someone outside the world of witchcraft."

"Mary." Zelda tapped her cigarette. "Mary was essential."

"Mary has been studying Pagan religions for years." Lilith crushed out her cigarette and fell into the bed beside Zelda. "You know, I really enjoyed living inside of her. She has parts to her that were unexpected. She's very unassuming."

"Yes, she really is." Zelda agreed breezily, flicking ash from her lap. Her nipples were hard. The room was cold. Why was Lilith lying beside her?

"Gorgeous really. Those eyes are certainly something. So sharp, so cold."

"Like the summer sky."

"I thought so, too." Lilith nodded.

"What are you doing in my bed?" Zelda turned to look into those enchantingly dark eyes that were momentarily lost in thoughts of Mary.

"Hmm? Oh, if it makes you uncomfortable I'll leave you be. I only wanted us to have a chat so that we might understand one another more clearly." Lilith sat up as if she might leave.

"But I'm not sure we do." Zelda hadn't meant to run her away. "You said you were powerless?"

Lilith scratched her head. "Yes. Once I made the decision to transport myself inside of you I had to give up my powers. I will only be able to help you with my knowledge of what I have witnessed over the years. I do hope you'll let me help you." She turned to Zelda from her seat on the edge of the bed.

Zelda felt speechless, overwhelmed by the events of the past few days. "Of course, of course. I'll need all the help I can get if I am to organize this world without a hell, without a Satan."

Lilith smiled, patted her on the hand and then stood from the bed. "Very good." She had changed into a slinky little black number with one of Zelda's robes over it so that she pulled it closed as she stood. "Hilda has made the most delectable pancakes and I suggest that you join us for a late breakfast to get your energy back up after all I have put you through."

And Zelda crossed her arms over her chest, nodding that she would join them soon. She needed to finish her cigarette and process this new information. Alone.

Lilith smelled of jasmine. The scent lingered after she walked out of the room.

* * *

Mary bashfully turned up after school with Sabrina. As if she were just going to drop her off and then be on her way but Zelda barred her from leaving. "Where do you think you're going?" Zelda caught her on the porch so that they were alone in the cooling evening, away from everyone else.

Mary had worn her hair down that day. It curled magnificently about her face.

She shuffled nervously before Zelda, her expression unreadable. Was she upset with her?

Zelda sighed, "can we go…go somewhere and talk?"

Mary conceded, walking to her car and Zelda followed. Mary drove them down the road, veering off onto a side dirt road that took them to an overlook of the town river. She turned off the car, putting her hands on the steering wheel then removing them, fidgety.

"Mary," Zelda reached out for her.

Mary allowed her to take her hand in her own.

"I was worried when I woke up without you. Of course, I had forgotten you had to teach." Zelda admitted.

"Yes, I…I needed some time away. Last night was…"

"Wild, exhausting." Zelda offered.

Mary's hand clasped hers tighter. "I was so worried."

"I didn't mean to worry you." Zelda turned to Mary, cupping her cheek.

"I know, it wasn't your fault."

"No, but I feel responsible for putting you through all of this."

"Zelda, I was already pulled in that night that I…the night that Lilith…inhabited me."

Zelda felt the corners of her mouth turn up at this comment. For though it was not comical at all, the irony was spectacular. "You realize that she's been inside of both of us."

Mary, at first, did not find this amusing, but as the thought of it sunk in she also laughed. "How ridiculous."

"She's a shape-shifted of the first rate." Zelda shook her head.

"What does she want with you?" Mary threaded her free hand into Zelda's hair, feeling at ease again. And Zelda felt a wave of relief was over her.

"She wants to help. Now that hell no longer exists we must rebuild. She told me that you are essential in all of it as well." Zelda pulled Mary close to her, kissing her. She smelled of honeysuckles, as always.

"Me?"

"Yes, you've got that clever head of yours that will be of help." Zelda nodded against her lips, kissing her again. "Besides," Zelda shifted closer. "I need you."

Mary hummed at this.

Zelda's hand slid beneath Mary's skirt and the teacher panted, moving against her with a renewed fervor, her body in need of Zelda. Mary was so wanting, so easily coaxed over the edge, grasping tightly to Zelda, as if she never wanted to let her go.

They stood beside the stream together after. Zelda bent down, let her hand trail through the cool stream of water. Mary stood tall, strong. The wind flowing through her hair, her face serene, calm as she looked at the nature that surrounded them. "It's so beautiful."

Zelda righted herself and pulled Mary into her arms. She buried her face in Mary's neck, pressing her lips to Mary's neck. Mary held her in her embrace, the sweet smell of evening time intoxicating about them.

"I love you." Zelda whispered, the words flowing from her as easily as the river moved on its way. She was shocked by what she had said, afraid for a moment. Afraid when Mary's body stiffened in her embrace. She held her tighter, perhaps afraid that she would run. And then Mary's whole being shook and Zelda realized she was crying.

"Oh, darling." Zelda held her up, kissed her neck, kissed her cheek.

"Zelda," Mary cried, her response to what Zelda had said evident in her eyes. She was speechless.

"Come on, let's get back. Hilda's made dinner. You have to…you must stay." Zelda wiped at her own wet cheeks. She didn't need Mary to say it. She wanted to move forward, fear gripping at her. For she had never admitted that before to anyone and she wanted to pretend as if the moment had not just happened, had not meant so much to Mary. To herself.

And Mary allowed her to lead her back to the car, as if understanding all of this.

* * *

Zelda sat atop the couch in a drowsy, drunken state, cigarette burning in its holder, watching. Watching as Lilith and Mary spoke about everything. Simply everything.

She lifted the tumbler of whiskey to her lips and sipped it back. Letty was in a cradle beside her, having just fallen asleep after she'd rocked her. Hilda was busy tidying the kitchen with Judas and so Zelda was left to watch as Lilith leaned in and pushed a gorgeous strand of hair out of Mary's eyes as they spoke. And Mary seemed not to notice this at all for she was talking about something – what was it? Dark magic in ancient Egypt?

Lilith was lost in Mary's enchanting blue eyes. Zelda could tell.

Zelda drank back more whiskey. She had told Mary she loved her. She had given her that power of her.

She sat drunk, enjoying the sight of Lilith lightly touching Mary's knee as she made a point about exorcisms – for were they really just curing a disease or had there actually been magic involved?

And she liked that Mary responded to this touch.

She loved Mary inexplicably, unconditionally. How she loved her. And she had said it.

Mary looked to her, those blue eyes at first concerned and then she found that Zelda was smiling at her so that she smiled back. She took a cigarette from Lilith and inhaled, still staring at Zelda through the haze of smoke before she was back to Lilith and they were suddenly talking about Victorian spiritualism.

Zelda needed another whiskey.


	18. Chapter 18

Zelda held Judas in her arms, staring down at his precious, peaceful face. What this young warlock could have become if his father had lived frightened Zelda. She had always felt a certain polarity to him so that she hardly ever held him, but having promised Hilda a night to herself with Dr. Cee, Zelda had taken it upon herself to care for him.

He was strong, she could sense it in his small limbs. He stared right back at her, as if he understood her as an equal. "Yes, we're both of us very powerful. I can only imagine what your father might have taught you had he lived." She drank back a gulp of her whiskey, happening to glance up as Mary crept from the back bedroom where she had taken Letty to put her to sleep.

Mary's cottage had felt like a good place to get away. Zelda could sense that the past few days had not given them any time alone and with Lilith and Sabrina and Ambrose and all the others coming and going at all times from the mortuary, Zelda had insisted that she come home with Mary.

There was so much still left unsaid between them, for there was hardly a moment alone except to hurriedly touch one another and then sleep.

Zelda smiled at Mary who came to her side, glancing down at Judas. They watched as his eyes grew heavier and heavier with sleep. "I should put him down as well." Zelda whispered, leaning into Mary as she drew closer to her.

Mary pressed her lips to Zelda's cheek. "I can take him." Mary, a surprisingly maternal being, swept him up and disappeared to the bedroom again.

It gave Zelda enough time to light a cigarette and freshen her drink. Mary appeared again and took the cigarette from Zelda. "It's so strange." She wrapped her arms around Zelda, holding her from behind as they both stood facing the fireplace. "It's so quiet here."

Zelda laughed, "almost too quiet." Zelda turned in Mary's embrace, their lips practically touching, teasing one another until Mary kissed the corner of Zelda's lip and then turned her head so that their lips could collide together. Zelda hummed, a bit drunk and content with Mary. "Mary," she breathed, leaning back from her. "You know that I…" she let her hand come to rest on Mary's cheek, tangle in her hair. "I only ever wanted to protect you. That night…"

Mary took Zelda's hand, kissed her palm and lifted the cigarette to her lips to inhale. "You were very cold."

Zelda took back the cigarette and Mary took the whiskey from her, the pair collapsing on the chairs across from one another. Zelda puffed at her cigarette. She flicked errant ash from her shirt.

"If something had…if something had happened to you…" Mary swirled the ice in the whiskey, staring into its substance.

Zelda huffed. "It didn't."

"It might have." Mary countered.

"Certainly, but I had hoped you would know…how I felt about you."

"I wouldn't have known it in the way you left me that day." Mary finished off the whiskey.

Zelda rolled her eyes to the ceiling. Why couldn't Mary just know, just understand her? Why must she make her say it all? "Come here." Zelda motioned for Mary, but Mary did not move. "Oh, come on. Come here."

Mary sat the tumbler down beside her, but made no move to get up.

"Don't make me magic you to me." Zelda playfully chided as she placed her cigarette atop an ashtray.

Mary looked unamused. And, because she wouldn't budge, a sudden jolt of energy forced her from her chair and Zelda reached out for her, pulling her atop her lap. Mary laughed at this, buried her face against Zelda's neck, kissing her.

"Don't you know…" Zelda whispered, "don't you know how terrible I am…"

"Yes." Mary nodded, wrapping her arms about Zelda's neck.

"I never promised I would be any good at expressing myself. You must know…"

Mary leaned in and kissed her. "I do know." She twisted, her skirt riding up so that she could straddle Zelda. "I do know that. It's one of the things that draws me to you, however maddening it is." She whispered as she pressed their lips together again.

Zelda smiled against her kisses. "So you forgive me?"

Mary sat back and looked at her through those wide, lovely eyes. "Perhaps you'll have to do something for me before I can forgive you."

"And what might that be?" Zelda's hands moved to push her skirt up higher.

"Take me to bed." Mary whispered against her ear.

* * *

"Witches and Warlocks," Zelda's voice did not waiver as she stood before the Coven in what had once been the Church of Night. "Lucifer Morningstar is dead. The Dark Lord is no more and therefore the Church of Night as we have conceived of it is no more. Things will be changing. Things have needed to change for a great long while. Father Blackwood was taking this church down a dark road, limiting what its female participants could do, upholding the masculine traditions of the church above all others. Yes, I did agree to a marriage with him. Yes, at the time, I did believe that he was creating something wonderful.

"I had no idea what it was that he was about to unleash. I had no idea that it would bring about the end times that had been prophesied for years." She paused, glanced about the room at all the expectant faces before her. They were with her. She could feel it. "But this is _not_the end. This is a new beginning for all of us. And, if you will allow me, I will act as your leader as we navigate into this new and unfamiliar territory." There was an uncertain applause that roared up from the crowd. She could feel the women of the Coven applauding her readily. She would have to accept this for now.

She glanced to her family, all seated there in the first row of the church. Hilda with Judas in her arms, Mary beside her – looking quite out of place in the room of witches – with Letty in her arms, and Lilith beside her. Lilith looking at Zelda with an intense gaze through her dark, knowing eyes.

"We shall continue our study of the craft, though after some time of discussion and transformation the church will begin anew, fresh. We shall implement new ideals. Satan is no longer a worthy deity to pray to. We shall have to embrace this new reality, we shall have to take accountability for ourselves, for our own actions, for our own way. We shall have open forums to discuss our traditions, or ways, and how we can move forward in light of recent events, for the art of magic is sacred and we must keep it as such." Zelda cleared her throat, realizing the enormity of this proclamation.

"I would also like to dispel any confusion about what has happened. It was through the help of Mary Wardwell that we were able to defeat Satan." Zelda smiled upon Mary who shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Though she is a mortal she was possessed by Lilith, as many of you remember. She is still alive and well and has defeated Satan through her own bravery." The audience cheered at this and Zelda could see Mary's cheeks flushing from the podium.

"As for Lilith. We believed her dead after the night that Lucifer was killed, but she was able to pull herself through. She has returned to us and will help guide us through this time of turmoil. Lilith?" Zelda held her hand out for Lilith who unfolded herself from the church bench and moved towards the podium.

Her dark hair cascaded over her shoulders, the sleek red dress she wore hugged her curves, every last one of them. The crowd was uncertain, spoke amongst themselves until Lilith stood fully before them. "Yes, I am the real Lilith. I have come before you today through the aid of Zelda Spellman and her family. Were it not for her, I would not have survived. Now that I am in my own form I hope to better assist the church and its needs since Satan is gone from us. I stood at his side for years, watching him tear things apart. I was under his spell for too long but now I am awake. As Zelda has said, we will no longer worship a false idol. We will learn the art of magic as it was intended to be used before the time of Satan. I came from magic. I was made of magic, made to practice magic. Naturally, freely. We shall learn to do the same." She paused and glanced to Zelda. She reached for her, took her hand in her own. "This woman, Zelda Spellman, was born to be a leader of the witching community. She will guide you well; I do believe it is what is necessary for the survival of witchcraft."

The Coven applauded for what felt like ages and Zelda had the strangest sensation that all of this had already happened to her a million times before. That she should now be the leader – the leader of something with so much potential, so much promise - made the skin on the back of her neck raise. It had come to fruition.

And Lilith clasped her hand as the applause continued, smiling at Zelda with an enchanting look that Zelda had to return.

* * *

"You had such command over the room," Mary whispered dizzily as Zelda's hand pawed at her shirt front buttons. "You were…so…poised, so elegant, so…I wanted…oh, I wanted…oh!"

The noise of the guests in the other room faded from Zelda's consciousness. They had slipped into the conservatory, only Hilda's plentiful plants to mask them from any intruders.

Mary had driven her wild during the reception party following her address to the Coven so that she had needed to escape with her.

The way Mary had clung onto Lilith and her every word as they'd sat talking to several Coven members about plans for the future, the way Lilith had coyly looked at Mary when she would happen to speak, Lilith's dark, caramel eyes enchanted by Mary's every word…and Zelda had drunk herself into a tipsy state until she could handle it no more and she'd taken Mary from the room, the duo disappearing without much notice. And they could have gone to Edward's room, but there was something more thrilling about being so near to everyone else.

Mary was equally intoxicated, her lips tasted like ash. Zelda had turned her into a regular smoker and she both hated herself for doing so and loved it all the more. And to know that it had been Lilith who had lighted Mary's cigarettes…

The thought thrilled her beyond comprehension. Undoubtedly, she wasn't thinking straight.

"You certainly like her," Zelda had pulled Mary's shirt open and made quick work of disturbing her bra so that she might fondle her hardened nipple with her fingers, attacking Mary's neck with her lips.

"Who?" Mary panted, head pressed against a pillar.

"Oh, come now, don't be shy about it." Zelda kissed Mary's lips, her hand trailing to the hem of her skirt.

"What are you talking about?" Mary hissed in the darkened stillness.

"Oh, Mary." Zelda pressed her lips to Mary's neck, licking to her ear. "Mary, Mary, Mary. You've gone for so many years untouched. I'm certain you might be just a little bit curious."

"Whatever do you…mean?" Mary's whole body shifted against Zelda's.

"Oh really, she's practically undressing you with her eyes every time she looks at you." Zelda's hand pressed Mary's skirt upwards. She loved undoing her.

"Who are you…who are you talking about?" Mary sighed through kisses.

"Is it her mind? I can see you when she talks to you. You're on edge." Zelda bit down against Mary's shoulder, trailing her fingers beneath her panties so that her hands cupped her behind, pulling her closer to her. "She's very clever. Just like you."

"Who…" Mary gasped. "I want…I want you."

"Mary," Zelda sighed.

"What?" Mary pouted, her body arching against Zelda. "Zelda, I only want you." She reached up and threaded her fingers through Zelda's hair, pulling her close.

Zelda laughed, "darling, it's okay to have other…desires. Haven't you ever been just a little bit curious?"

Mary's eyes widened. "Z-Zelda…"

"There's something about her that's so…magnetic. Can't you feel it, Mary?" Zelda bent her head to press kisses against Mary's jaw.

"Who are you talking about, Zelda?" Mary pleaded, her body so on edge and Zelda was only tormenting her. But Zelda knew, could see it in her eyes that she knew exactly who they were talking about.

"Mary…"

"Zelda…"

"Lilith." Zelda whispered the name as she pushed aside Mary's underthings and felt just what she had expected. A very pleasant wetness. And Mary's cheeks were bright red, for Zelda could see them in the starlight.

Mary looked horrified, "I…I…"

"It's alright, darling." Zelda whispered but Mary pushed her away.

"Stop it." Mary was panting, leaning against the pillar behind her, keeping her hand out to distance herself from Zelda. "Stop…I…I don't know what it is you're talking about."

"Darling," Zelda moved closer to her, cupped her cheeks between her hands. "Darling, I'm not mad. Not mad, at all."

And Mary looked at her with wide, curious eyes. "But I…" Mary was flummoxed.

Zelda grinned, twisting Mary so that her front was pressed up against the pillar. "Have you thought about her?" Zelda whispered against her ear.

Mary shook her head no, quickly and roughly, Zelda's hand wandering down her side, but not touching just where she knew she wanted her, needed her.

"You don't have to lie to me, Mary." Zelda whispered, her tongue tracing over Mary's bare, exposed shoulder. "Have you thought about Lilith? Have you thought about her touching you?"

"No…no…I…" Mary whimpered, pressing against Zelda.

"Mary." Zelda loosened her grasp for a moment and Mary turned half-way to face her.

Her eyes were closed, as if shamed. "Y-yes."

And Mary's eyes came slowly open, looking to Zelda for the effect of her admission. She looked as if she expected Zelda to be upset with her, to perhaps strike her, but instead Zelda was smiling. "You gorgeous woman." Zelda groaned.

"You're not…upset with me?" Mary panted.

"On the contrary." Zelda took her in her arms, peppering her with kisses, hand sliding back up her thigh.

"You…you should be upset with me." Mary insisted, though her body came open to Zelda's touch.

"Why ever for?" Zelda hovered over her lips, hand poised to touch her, but not moving.

Mary shifted in protest, her eyes suddenly wide. "You've…you've thought about her, too?"

Zelda simply smiled, her fingers connecting with Mary, eliciting a little moan of surprise from her before she covered her lips to conceal what it was they were doing from anyone who might be passing nearby.

Mary came in record time, shivering, legs weak, leaning heavily against the pillar and Zelda wasn't nearly satiated at all, but she held onto Mary, kept her from sinking to the ground, pressed feathery kisses to her cheeks.

They both heard the surprised catch of a throat.

"Well, well, well. Whatever do we have here?"

Mary twisted from Zelda, pulling her shirt to cover up her exposed chest. Zelda brushed her hair from her cheeks and turned to find Lilith standing in the doorway from the kitchen. The light from the other room illuminated her curved silhouette, her dark hair hung in perfect curls about her face, those dark eyes wide in the dim light.

"A little game of cat and mouse?" Lilith crossed her arms over her chest and stared from Mary to Zelda.

"I…I should go." Mary was trying to fix her hair, her shirt buttoned haphazardly, embarrassed.

"No, Mary. Don't go." Zelda tried to reach for her but she pulled from her grasp.

"I really must…uhm…yes." She could look at neither Zelda nor Lilith as she made her way from the conservatory.

Zelda was left staring at Lilith, the dark enchantress holding her gaze. Curious. "Did I interrupt something?"


	19. Chapter 19

Zelda covered her face with her hands.

"Zelda, darling. What has happened? Why aren't you going after her?" Lilith glanced from one woman to the retreating form of the other.

Zelda wiped a hand over her mouth. "You're the last person who…oh damn you." Zelda growled, more annoyed with herself than she was willing to admit in the moment. She should have known to approach Mary more delicately, but she had sensed it…had felt it so acutely. She had thought…

"Oh dear," Lilith sighed. "I see. I - I always seem to have this effect on everyone. I thought perhaps when I regenerated…" She shifted uncomfortably, moving closer to Zelda. "Darling, have I…have I done something wrong?"

"No," Zelda groaned, sitting atop a bench. "No. I ruined it."

"I feel as if I had a hand in it somehow." Lilith settled onto the bench beside Zelda.

Zelda looked up at her. "You like her, don't you?"

Lilith shrugged. "Is it awful if I admit that I find her charming and gorgeous?"

"No, not at all." Zelda sighed. "She is both of those things, among many others…"

"I do like her." Lilith reached out and pushed Zelda's hair away from her face. "I also love the love that you have for one another. It's so strong, the bond that you share. You remember, you must remember, that magic you felt around her at first."

Zelda remembered how her body had been so alive those first times Mary touched her. "Yes."

"It's something divine, the connection you two share."

"It certainly took the universe long enough to bring her to me." Zelda huffed.

Lilith pulled out a cigarette and offered it to her. Zelda accepted gladly. "Great things take time, my dear." She snapped her fingers and lit the cigarette for Zelda, lighting one for herself.

Zelda sat back, placing her arm on the back of the bench so that she could look at Lilith. "You love our love, but what is it you want?"

Lilith smiled at this.

Zelda searched Lilith's face. "It was you, wasn't it? It was you with a glamor that tortured me in those dreams. As if you knew what it was I so enjoyed."

"Yes." Lilith nodded, putting the cigarette to her lips.

"You wanted me to fall for Mary so you became her. But it was you." Zelda slowly worked the pieces together.

"I was helping you along. She was on your mind." Lilith answered earnestly.

"And you don't think I would have enjoyed it if it had been you instead?" Zelda brought the cigarette to her lips and inhaled, watching Lilith as she watched her.

A devilish little smirk curved on Lilith's lips. "Darling, I know you would have."

Zelda exhaled. "She likes you. Very much."

"And I her." Lilith flicked ash from her cigarette. "As I like you. Very much." She brought the cigarette to her lips and inhaled.

Zelda felt her cheeks burn for a moment. Was the Dark Lady of the world…hitting on her? _And Mary_?

"But isn't this…everything we just fought against? When I was with Father Blackwood, when Lady Blackwood was still alive, he made mention of the old polyamorous ways of the religion and I had thought that it sounded idiotic. I had never been for it."

"Yes, but you're seeing it from the male perspective. And from that angle, it was idiotic. The man could have whichever woman he wanted but the same was not true for women. Women were to be used as sex slaves, not worshiped and cherished." Lilith leaned in closer. "What Father Blackwood did to you was unforgiveable. That pig should have never been allowed near the Church of Night. Nor you."

Zelda flinched at her recent past. "We all must pay the price every now and then."

"Yes." Lilith agreed. "I paid it for years. I followed Lucifer like a lost puppy because he promised me that I would rule by his side if I showed my loyalty. I should have ruled by his side the minute we met, but he kept me on a leash, continued to make me prove myself. I obeyed his every command, even when I didn't know I was doing so. And look at how he repaid me. He killed me."

Zelda turned to Lilith, surprised by her candid words. So, they had been the same. Vying for power through the same means. Men.

"Zelda," Lilith turned to her, looking a bit like a cat with its tail between her legs. "I do hope you know that I never meant to hurt Sabrina."

"Yet you led her right into Lucifer's traps." Zelda admonished.

"Yes, but I did not know his will then. I would have protected her, I _did_try to protect her..."

"But you wanted the power so you would have done anything." Zelda countered.

Lilith tilted her head. "You wouldn't have done the same?"

Zelda laughed in disbelief, brought the cigarette to her lips and inhaled. "Touché."

"It's hell being a woman." Lilith sat back against the bench and looked up to the night sky through the conservatory ceiling.

"Well," Zelda glanced up as well, "technically, there is no hell so…I guess all we have left is to be women."

Lilith smiled over at her, those dark eyes shimmering in the dim light. "Very powerful, very strong, very _beautiful_women."

"Agreed." Zelda smiled back.

Lilith leaned forward, then, coming close enough that if Zelda were to inch forward they just might… "Darling." Lilith gave her a sad smile. "You really must go to Mary now."

Zelda shifted away from Lilith, crushed her cigarette out in a nearby flower pot. Irritated.

"She'll come around." Lilith reached out and patted Zelda on the arm. "She will, I promise."

Zelda turned to her to protest, but Lilith winked and the most interesting sensation stirred inside of Zelda.

* * *

"Mary?" Zelda called into the dimly lit cottage.

Mary's shirt was thrown over a chair, a bottle was precariously sat on its side atop the table, her shoes had come off shortly afterwards...little breadcrumbs that led Zelda to the bathroom.

"Mary," Zelda pushed against the bathroom door, expecting a barricade. Instead it came open with no resistance.

Mary's cheeks were flushed, puffy from tears, her body submerged in a soapy bath. The poor darling was looking anywhere but at Zelda.

"Mary." Zelda whispered, falling to her knees beside the tub.

Mary ran a hand over her face, flustered. "I need to sober up, you're...you're ruining me. This _isn't_me. I hadn't smoked…I…I've never been a drinker...I don't let myself indulge so carelessly and now…until you...you..."

"Mary..." Zelda watched helplessly as Mary grasped for some semblance of control.

"I think I need some time away. From everything." Mary went on, speaking over Zelda. "You don't know what it is to go from living alone for years, _years_and then to suddenly...You don't know. I-I had no one. I was surviving on my own. I was okay."

"Mary, Mary! Stop it." Zelda reached into the tub, took her hands in her own, forced her to look at her. "Would you listen to yourself. Surviving. Surviving is no way to live. And don't you tell me about being alone for years. I've lived millennia longer than you. Alone. Lonely."

"You had your sister, your family..." Mary spat.

"It didn't make me feel any less lonely." Zelda wanted to slap some sense into Mary. She was reeling.

"You don't understand." Mary pulled her hands away, looking Zelda square in the face. "I want to be alone."

Zelda dropped her hands, leaning back against the wall behind her. "Well I don't want to be. Not anymore." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Then go have Lilith." Mary retaliated, hurt and humiliation shading her words.

"Oh, now. Really, Mary. That's rich." Zelda laughed at her pitiful attempt at jealousy.

"You seem to want her so badly..."

"Mary, would you listen to me." Zelda crawled towards her, came up on her knees. Mary wouldn't look at her. But she did allow Zelda to reach for her soap and washcloth. Mary did not stop her when she ran the towel behind her neck, slowly down her arm, meticulously scrubbing between each finger as she had used to with Sabrina when she was a toddler, as she did now to Letty. "I no more want to lose you to her than I want to lose myself to her. That's not at all what I want."

Mary's brow knit, but Zelda could sense that she knew just what Zelda was saying. "What is it that you want then?" Mary was looking at her then, studying her as she took hold of Mary's other hand to wash it.

"Plurality has been a long-standing tradition in the Church." Zelda hazarded to state.

Mary laughed, "yes, to serve and please the men."

"But suppose we were to use it in a different way." Zelda took Mary's hand into her own, looking into her curious eyes, Mary finally deigning to allow her this intimacy. "Mary," Zelda clasped her hand tighter. "What we have together is nothing short of extraordinary. It's beyond anything I ever imagined possible. But I wonder if Lilith might also be a part of this."

"You like her power." Mary tried to push her away, but Zelda held tight.

"And you like her mind. She's been around since the beginning of time, she certainly knows more about the world than any book or scholar could tell you." Zelda leaned ever closer, Mary did not pull away from her. "And that, my dear, excites you…" She could feel Mary's resistance growing weaker by the second.

"That doesn't mean," Mary swallowed, shaking her head. "That doesn't mean she needs to…join us."

Zelda shifted so that she could press her lips to Mary's shoulder. "It's a feeling I get…when I see you with her…" Zelda trailed her fingers over Mary's neck, pressed her lips against her cheek. "Don't tell me that you haven't felt it too when you're with her." Her hand slid over Mary's heart, feeling the organ through her warm skin, her ribcage, expanding, pulsing rhythmically.

Mary's eyes closed, her head falling so that her forehead rested against Zelda's. And then a sensation welled up beneath Zelda's palm, as if a wave of bright energy exchanged from Mary's heart directly into her hand.

Mary gasped, feeling this sensation as acutely as Zelda had.

"What is that?" She breathed, hand moving to cover Zelda's.

"That's the power that exists between us. Our bond is so strong that it can generate magic." Zelda pressed her lips to Mary's temple.

"Oh," Mary whimpered, her heart pounding against Zelda's trapped hand.

Zelda sighed, "It was wrong of me to tease you about her."

"Zelda," Mary turned to her, found her eyes. "I liked it." Her voice was barely audible.

Zelda smiled then, pressed their lips together in a searing kiss.

"I like her…she's…she's brilliant…she's enchanting…" Mary spoke through kisses, as if the dam had burst and she was now free to say what it was she needed to say.

"Of course she is, she's Lilith. She has a reputation for eliciting that sort of response." Zelda laughed.

"But there's so much more…more to her…she's kind…she's warm…when she touches me…"

Zelda groaned, could hardly believe what she had just unleashed within Mary. "It's not wrong to want…"

"Zelda," Mary panted, looking at her with those worried, frightened eyes. That look that reminded her of when they had only just begun speaking and Mary had been so uncertain. "I don't…I don't want to be alone." And she looked so small then as she spoke.

"Oh, sweetheart. You don't have to be alone. You're _not_alone."

"But I don't want to…lose you."

"You're not losing me. I'm not going anywhere." Zelda smiled, kissed her shoulder, realizing just how soaking wet the sleeves of her dress had become over the course of their interactions, how damp the front of her dress was.

"Zelda?" Mary reached for her. "Zelda, can we…wait, just wait."

"Yes, yes. Of course." Zelda pulled her in for a reassuring kiss.

"I'm not…it's only…"

"I understand." Zelda nodded.

And then Mary looked at her and realized what it was she had done to her. "Oh, Zelda, you're soaking wet."

"In more ways than one." Zelda quipped. "Come on, let's get you out of this bath before you turn into a raisin."

"I think we need to get you out of those clothes. They're absolutely dripping."

"Heavens."

* * *

The overture to Tristan and Isolde played out, blissfully uninterrupted from the radio in the mortuary kitchen. It had been ages since Zelda had had the home all to herself. Hilda had taken the twins to see Dr. Cee, Lilith was at the Academy, Ambrose off with Prudence for some Academy business, and Sabrina and Mary at school. She sat, skimming through a Russian newspaper, searching for any signs of hell's disappearance that might have affected mortal life. Though nothing seemed amiss. There were still military coups, the mass building up of weapons, secrets, lies…the usual evils of the world.

Satan might be dead, but evil still prevailed. Evil would exist regardless of any reigning deity, of this Zelda was certain.

She lifted a cup of peppermint tea to her lips, reveling in the luscious sounds of Wagner – fighting off the urge for another morning cigarette, for she'd promised Mary that she would cut back – when suddenly she heard the front door burst open and Sabrina appeared in the kitchen.

"Auntie! Good, you're here."

"Of course, but why are you here? You're supposed to be at school." Zelda folded down the corner of her newspaper.

"Auntie, there's talk."

"Talk of what?" Zelda settled the newspaper down before her, taking in the agitated state of her niece before her.

"Nick…Nick overheard talk at Dorian's Gray Room. They don't agree with what is happening, they don't agree with you, with the direction you want the church to go in, they don't want the laws to change. Nick thinks there will be some kind of uprising, possibly attacks against you, against us, maybe even Lilith."

Zelda's heart hammered in her chest, her perfectly quiet morning ruined in a simple second.

"They don't agree with throwing everything they know away. They don't like…they don't agree with…"

Zelda rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "They don't agree with me because I'm a woman. They're afraid of what might happen to their precious little boy's club if a woman is in charge." Zelda's shoulders sagged. "I should have known…I should have known it wouldn't be so simple."

"Auntie, we'll keep our ears open, we'll find out what it is they have planned so that we can plan a counterattack. Auntie Zee, you were _meant_to lead us. And we're going to help you."

Zelda sat stunned, feeling foolish. Foolish to have thought that things could be so easy. "Idiot." She slammed her hand against her forehead.

"Auntie!" Sabrina came to her side, took her hand in her so as to stop her from harming herself again. "We've defeated Satan, we can certainly defeat the men of the Coven."

Zelda looked hopelessly at her niece, touched by her concern.

"Oh, Sabrina." Zelda sighed, squeezing Sabrina's hand in her own. "If only it were so simple. This will require some very strategic planning." She shook her head, angry at herself. Angry that things always had to be so complicated. She looked to Sabrina, to her uncertain expression. And then Zelda's brow furrowed. "Sabrina, why weren't you at Baxter High?"

"Nick came to me, he asked me to meet him…he had to tell me…I…"

"Sabrina," Zelda shook her head. "You can't just skip school."

"Auntie, I'm trying to help you."

"And I appreciate that you've brought this to my attention, but I am your aunt, your guardian, and it is my duty to look out for your well-being." Zelda admonished her, all the while internally admonishing herself for she had certainly lost touch with her niece. She's been so preoccupied recently, she'd let things go.

And Sabrina, in turn, looked angry at her, as if she might throw a temper tantrum as she might have when she was ten years old. But suddenly her face contorted and she burst into tears.

"Oh, Sabrina," Zelda stood up, taking the teen in her arms. "Sabrina, what is it? What's wrong?"

"Auntie," Sabrina sobbed against her chest.

"Oh," Zelda nodded. "I know, I know things haven't been easy for you recently. I know you've been through so much and you've been so strong. I didn't mean…It's alright."

Sabrina clasped onto Zelda as she had when she was a child, clinging to her, seeking comfort from her. And she pressed a kiss to the crown of her head, holding her close.

"You don't have to go back to school today. How about…oh, Hilda left some cookies. We'll have a nice glass of milk and some cookies and watch that horrible show you used to like that comes on about now." Zelda offered, knowing that Sabrina needed to just be a teenager for a little while.

And Sabrina nodded against her chest before looking up at her with blurry, teary, happy eyes. "Thank you, Auntie Zee."

"Go put on your pajamas and I'll meet you in the living room." Zelda scooted her away and Sabrina nodded cheerfully, running from the kitchen.

And once Sabrina was up the stairs, Zelda cursed to herself and lit up a cigarette.

Of course, there would be dissent against her. Whatever would she do now?


	20. Chapter 20

The chamber looked much less imposing than it once had when Father Blackwood had inhabited it. Zelda's gaze fell to the desk upon which she and Faustus had co-mingled, the chair upon which he had taken her, the bookcase he'd trapped her against. She could sense his presence in every inch of the room and it made her uneasy.

Only it was different now. The jasmine and lilac scent of Lilith swathed the room, something by Mahler - or was it Strauss? - played out on a gramophone, the temptress herself sat behind the desk, hair falling about her shoulders, squinting at a book before her, hand poised to take notes. She looked up at Zelda, a quick flash of delight crossing her features upon finding her there.

"The music, what is it?" Zelda asked, taken by the lush melodies. It simply had to be Strauss.

"Richard Strauss. Tod und Verklärung. Beautiful, isn't it?" Lilith glanced down to finish something she had been writing.

"Death and transfiguration." Zelda remembered having been intrigued by the piece when it premiered in London in 1897. It seemed only yesterday, the music taking her back. Oh, how she'd loved that moment in musical history. The composers were moving into a state of realism, uncertain what the turn of the century would hold.

So much death and transformation had happened since then…

"Zelda, you sounded tense when you phoned. Whatever is the matter?" Lilith sat her pen down.

"I think we might have run into some…resistance." Zelda clasped her hands before her, the doors to the chamber shut behind her of her own volition.

Lilith leaned forward. "You've heard then. The whispers."

Zelda tilted her head. "You've known."

"Well, darling, I do think it's quite hard to build anything worthy without some opposition. You must have known there would be some kickback to your leadership."

Zelda folded down into the chair before Lilith. "I was busy rebuilding the school, figuring out the will of this new world...I never thought it would not be welcomed with open arms. I was stupid and naïve, of course, to assume this."

"Don't say such things about yourself, darling." Lilith admonished as she stood from behind the desk, walking to the seat beside Zelda. "This world, thus far, has been a man's world. They have been able to do as they please and have unlimited power for centuries. I've watched it first hand. From God himself who cast me aside because I questioned his authority. I never saw this entity, was only told to submit to _his_will and trust that he would always be there, that his will was the end all be all.

"But what I could actually_see_was the world around me. The trees, the earth, the streams, the flowers, the sun, the sky…I was surrounded by nature and she protected me. She held me in her arms and loved me." Lilith was lost in those memories, of the distant world. "I thought Lucifer, who lived on the Earth, who was one with it, would never harm me and I trusted him. I did his biding because I thought that one day he would allow me to be his equal. But I was wrong and along the way I was made to blame for things that man did not want to take the blame for. I was sent on missions to seduce men, willing them to lose their way, distracting them by my womanliness. My own body was used against me to suit men.

"Men can be so very simple-minded, idiotic, and afraid of anything that might threaten them. They're treated as little princes as children and they grow up thinking that they're kings, gods in their own right." Lilith leaned towards her, patted her hand. "Zelda, what we are about to do will be met with resistance. Men do not want to see a woman in charge because it threatens their own power and prestige. It threatens the very core of who they are. So no, they will not simply bow to you."

"Then what am I supposed to do? How do we change everything?"

"Well it certainly won't happen overnight, darling." Lilith rubbed her forehead. "Perhaps through our actions, or rather lack of reactions."

"You think we can outwit them without retaliation? They will act out violently. What if they harm Mary for killing their precious symbol of manhood? What if they harm you..."

"They may try it but the Spellman mortuary is a powerful fortress. You may not realize it but, Zelda, your powers are far stronger and sharper than you even know. You were limited by the idea that everything has a price." Lilith reached for a tin cigarette case, flicking it open, holding it out for Zelda.

"Oh no, no thank you. I need to..."

Lilith's eyes shimmered. "Oh." She snapped the case closed and stood. "Then perhaps some tea. I just brewed a fresh pot." She moved to the cabinet in the corner, placing two cups atop a silver platter. It was as if she had always belonged in this office.

The office that Zelda now had technical reign over but was allowing Lilith the space for her own biding. She looked so at home there. Zelda watched, transfixed by her decisive, smooth motions as she poured tea. The careless yet calculated way she had about her was intriguing.

"You can't possibly tell me that there are no ramifications for our misdeeds. If I ever stepped out of line there was always some ramification." Zelda protested.

"Of course, for you there was always punishment. The Church of Night saw to it that no one abused his or her powers. A watchful eye was kept on all of you. Especially your family." Lilith returned to Zelda and presented her with a steaming cup of lavender and vanilla scented tea, curling back into the seat beside her with her own cup.

"What do you mean?" Zelda looked to the enchantress.

"Lucifer took a special interest in your brother. He was threatened by his love for a mortal at first, but then he saw it as a way to bring the mortal world into his religion, to accept his ways. He involved himself with the birth of Sabrina because he wanted a mortal heir."

Zelda sniffed. "Sabrina is his daughter, then?"

Lilith looked to her. "No."

Zelda's brow knit.

"There was another child born to Diana with the cloven hoof of the Dark Lord." She admitted. "There were two, one Edward's and one Lucifer's. Lucifer's heir was entrusted to my care." Lilith sipped her tea, looking down into it surface, as if flustered by this admission. "It was meant to be the other way around, though. I was meant to kill Edward's off-spring and salvage Lucifer's."

"But you killed Lucifer's daughter." Zelda's tea cup clattered back on its saucer.

Lilith nodded, as if guilty. "I didn't want him to have an heir. I was his rightful Queen."

"And he never knew?"

Lilith shook her head. "No, but no matter what Sabrina did she would never have been able to serve him the way his rightful daughter would have. He would have found out eventually."

Zelda felt tears well in her eyes. Sabrina, her darling Sabrina was truly Edward's.

"Oh, darling." Lilith stood up and moved to her, kneeling down before her. "I felt you deserved to know the truth."

"Th-thank you." Zelda wept.

"You, Zelda," Lilith reached up and wiped at her tears. "You are powerful. More powerful than Lucifer knew. He underestimated you when he laid the plans to eliminated Edward Spellman. He thought he would be the Spellman to undo him, but it was you. It has always been you. You must know that no matter what we are about to face within the Coven, you will be able to handle it."

Zelda swallowed, felt her brow crease as she fought off more foolish tears. She did not feel powerful now.

"Trust me." Lilith squeezed her hand and then righted herself.

Zelda wiped furiously at her face, drank back a sip of the intoxicating tea blend, and felt the tension in her head begin to release. Would they make it through this?

"Sabrina and Nick will be keeping a watch on the Coven. She will keep me informed of any plots that might be forming."

"Do you think Nick will be enough to really know what is going on? Everyone will know he is beholden to you and your family because you saved him." Lilith sat back down behind the desk and put a cigarette between her lips.

Zelda shrugged. "Prudence and her sisters are also very keen observers. She has been spending some time with Ambrose so they will also keep their ears open."

"We cannot attack as they will attack us. It will only make things worse." Lilith cautioned.

"I agree. We can only outsmart them at every turn." Zelda felt a renewed sense of confidence within herself stirring. Perhaps the religion was changing, and perhaps they would lose followers, but she was going to create something new and wonderful, something beautiful and she knew that it would be right and just in ways that the Church had never been.

They would solve this. And it comforted her to know she had Lilith and her knowledge.

"By the way," Lilith breezily spoke, looking up from her notes. "I think I should bunk here for a bit. I just feel I might be in the way at the mortuary…I don't mean to impose."

"No," Zelda pulled at her collar. "No, I think it best if you stay with us. For now. I worry, since you don't have powers."

"It's the damndest thing to not have them." Lilith agreed. She jotted something down in her notebook. "I just don't want to be in the way."

"You're not in the way…what are you…

Lilith exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Mary…she's been rather…standoffish with me lately."

Zelda almost laughed at this. "Has she?"

"Yes, she's avoided me the past few nights. I just wonder if it might be better for me to…not be there." Lilith looked up from her notes.

Zelda shook her head. "Perhaps I've made her self-conscious."

Lilith eyed Zelda, "whatever did you do?"

"Oh, just brought up the possibility…you know…"

"Ah, I see." Lilith's face fell briefly, almost imperceptibly but Zelda caught it.

"She didn't say no, she just wants some time."

Lilith tapped her cigarette against an ashtray. "It's understandable."

"Yes." Zelda sipped her tea. "She really does like you."

Lilith smiled.

"Why don't we…perhaps if the three of us were to have dinner." The idea rolled off her tongue.

"Do you think she'll be alright with that?" Lilith picked her own tea cup back up.

"We'll see." Zelda offered, placing her empty teacup atop its saucer and settling it on the desk. "I should be going home. I told Hilda I would watch the twins while she went out tonight." Zelda stood and then looked back to the woman behind the desk. "Lilith, I…I want to thank you. For what you did for Sabrina."

Lilith shrugged, rolling her cigarette across the rim of the ashtray. "It was in my own self-interest."

"Regardless, you saved a part of my brother." Zelda fought back the tears again.

Lilith looked up at her with such a sweet expression of concern.

"I'd better see you at the mortuary this evening. Or else I'll send Ambrose for you." Zelda threatened and then left before Lilith could make another protest.

And once she was out in the hallway, tucked away in a dark corridor, out of sight from prying ears and eyes, she shoved her shirt sleeve against her mouth and released the sobs that she had not allowed to escape in the presence of others.


	21. Chapter 21

The sky was lightening rapidly over the hushed forest. The dawn was coming in the sky. On the ground, there was stillness, silence. The morning birds chattered away with one another, mist clung to the trees, shrouded the whole forest in a white blanket.

Zelda stood still at the edge of the clearing in her black boots and a black dressing gown.

She peered ahead at two eyes that stared right back at her. They had come to a standstill in the clearing, she and this gorgeous creature. She had watched it as it grazed and then, as if sensing her presence, the deer had lifted her head to look at her. She seemed to trust Zelda, eyes blinking at her in a sort of submission.

Zelda could hear herself breathing, steadily. Calmly.

The deer bowed to her.

Zelda sent all her focus into those large, dark eyes. She drew the gun, aimed it with a steady hand. It shot off, slamming her arm back, but the bullet moved swiftly towards its intended target. Zelda had always been an excellent marksman.

She watched in the still of the morning as the deer fell to her knees, her body soundlessly collapsing, falling sideways, neck bending backwards.

Zelda's eyes grew wide, her pulse quickened.

The deer was dead. That gorgeous, harmless creature.

She moved towards the deer, no longer cautious about her steps. Bending down beside the animal, she examined the wound, how it had cut perfectly between the deer's beautiful eyes. She watched as all signs of life drained away like the wash of blood on the forest ground.

Tears prickled her eyes and she reached out with an unsteady hand, hovering it ever so slightly over the deer's body. She closed her eyes, chanting the spell soundlessly over the lifeless corpse.

There was a spark of magic that surged through her. Something she had never felt before. A white surge of energy.

She heard the snap of a twig. Her eyes shot open to find the deer standing before her, staring at her.

"Oh," Zelda gasped, covering her mouth as she looked up at this majestic creature. The bullet hole was gone.

The deer stared at her with obedient eyes.

She reached out a hand, allowed the deer to sniff at her and then she bowed her head so that Zelda could stroke the soft fur between her eyes.

The deer nuzzled her and then turned, racing away, back into the forest and Zelda was left alone in the clearing. Her body was shaking.

The house was still when she returned. She shed her boots and robe. No one had noticed her morning disappearance. She washed dried blood from the sole of the boots, then washed her hands of what she had just done.

Pressing open the door to Edward's old room, she found Mary still asleep, curled into a ball on her side. The sight brought her a sense of relief, peace.

She crawled back into the bed, wrapping Mary in her arms, her hand coming to rest on her sternum. She closed her eyes and felt the power of Mary's solar plexus, could sense the unbridled life force that surged through her. And she reveled in the feeling of her energy.

* * *

June Christy singing "Moonglow" played on the record in the corner of Mary's living room. Zelda looked, again, over the table, shifting the silverware for the umpteenth time, a flutter of nervous energy settled in the pit of her stomach.

And where was Mary? She'd left the most aromatic roast going in the oven but she had disappeared. "Mary?" Zelda called, walking to her bedroom.

Mary sat before her vanity, staring bleakly into the mirror.

"Mary, what is it?" Zelda moved to stand behind her, placed her hand on her shoulders.

Mary shrugged. "I'm hideous."

Zelda could not help the laugh that escaped. "Darling, that's simply not true."

"Oh, yes, it is." Mary pulled the pins from her hair, hiding behind the locks.

Zelda reached for her hairbrush and ran it through the strands. "You're exquisite." She brushed and twirled and set the hair until it fell in waves about Mary's face. "Is this how you felt before I came that first night for dinner?"

Mary nodded shyly.

Zelda smiled, turned the woman to face her and lifted her chin to press a kiss to her distraught lips. She kept hold of Mary's face and picked up a powder brush to her forehead, rouged her cheeks and then made her pucker her lips to apply her nicest shade of cherry red. "There." She turned Mary back to the mirror and the woman squinted at herself. "You're gorgeous." Zelda bent down and pressed her lips to Mary's cheek.

"Well," she sighed, "it's a bit of an improvement."

They both heard the knock at the door, as if they'd felt it in their bones.

Mary reached for Zelda's arm, clasping onto it.

"Mary, there's nothing to be afraid of." Zelda leaned towards her, "I love you." She whispered against her ear, a reassurance for this was no ordinary moment. She moved to stand but Mary grasped at her arm and pulled her back.

"Zelda, I love you. You know..."

Zelda smiled. "I know." She righted herself, smoothed out the front of her dress, catching a herself in the mirror. She looked thinner, probably from the stress of the last few weeks. But there was a rosy hue to her cheeks and her lips were her favorite dark red. Yes, she looked quite well. "I'll get the door." She adjusted her hair, feeling her heart pound as she moved through the house.

Lilith was on the stoop, puffing away on the last of a cigarette, a bouquet of red roses in her arms. She was in wide-legged trousers, her white shirt partially unbuttoned down the front so that Zelda could have sworn she saw a glimpse of a black bra.

"Well, now that is a nice touch." Zelda complimented her.

Lilith raised her eyebrows and flicked away her cigarette, leaning in to exchange a kiss on each cheek with Zelda. How very Parisian of them. "They're for the lady of the house."

Zelda laughed at that and then noticed how Lilith's eyes shifted away from her. Zelda turned to find Mary standing shyly beside the table.

The lights in the room appeared to glow brighter.

"Well hello there." Lilith smiled, moving slowly towards Mary as if she were a scared cat that might dart away at the slightest misstep. It was an odd dance, Zelda thought, as she watched Mary allow Lilith to kiss her cheeks as if they were complete strangers. Which was highly ridiculous for they spent so much time at the mortuary brushing up against one another. "I brought that book we were talking about. I found it hidden in Faustus' library." Lilith pulled the book from her arm and presented it to the teacher who glanced down at it, her hair falling into her face as she did so.

"And some flowers, I see." Mary's looked up again.

"Yes." Lilith held them out. Mary took them bashfully.

"Th-thank you."

"Mary," Lilith caught her arm, stopping her from retreating to fetch a vase. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable. That's the last thing I want, you understand?"

Mary smiled at her. "I know." She patted her arm.

Zelda watched on like a curious voyeur, intrigued to see the way in which they interacted. To witness it first hand was tantalizing.

The flowers were placed at the center of the table. Mary's pot roast smelled decadent. She served it with aplomb. And as they ate the air in the room eased about them. Mary slowly but surely came out of her shell, caught up in the lovely chatter that flowed freely between the three of them.

The tension from the beginning of the night faded away. Zelda took a special delight in watching as Lilith and Mary discussed the crumbling of the Roman Empire, delighting in the way Mary's eyes lit up, the way Lilith would counter her, kindly, and then explain what had really happened. All the while Zelda's attention accidentally slipping to the front of Lilith's undone shirt.

And Zelda enjoyed their banter, content to watch on. Until Mary reached for her hand atop the table. "But we're not being fair to our Zelda."

Our Zelda. The phrase sounded delightful in her head.

"No, no. I so very much enjoy listening to you two go on about...Roman gods verses Greek gods. By all means..."

"No, Mary is right." Lilith clasped at her other hand. Zelda felt a powerful surge race through her body. From one arm to the other. "We can't bore you all night with history."

"I enjoy your discussions." Zelda smiled, delighting in the way the other's eyes on her made her feel. They could both see her, in ways that no one had ever seen her before.

"Oh, really." Lilith released her hand. The energy dropped. "Then shall we discuss the 1300s, the years that Zelda spent in the Scottish countryside?"

"Oh, I'd really rather not." Zelda brushed her hair from her eyes.

"Why don't I clear these plates and we can have some tea and dessert by the fire." Mary suggested.

"Let me help you." Lilith offered, standing from the table to gather up the plates before Mary could protest.

Zelda realized she was exempt from the cleaning and so lit up a cigarette, glancing at the book which Lilith had brought for Mary. Sapphistries: A Global History of Love Between Women. Oh.

She could hear them chattering away in the kitchen, Mary laughing at something. Zelda moved to the doorway to the kitchen, her heart pounding when she saw Lilith reach up and push a strand of that gorgeous hair from Mary's eyes. Mary paused in her scrubbing motions, their eyes locking.

Zelda inhaled on her cigarette and the sound of burning paper crackled through the room. The pair looked at her, as if guilty.

"Really, you needn't stop on account of me." Zelda leaned up against the doorframe.

Mary bashfully turned away. Zelda could tell that her cheeks were bright red. "Zelda, take Lilith to the living room. I'll be out in a bit."

And Zelda nodded for Lilith to join her, knowing that Mary needed a moment to collect herself. The dark-haired enchantress obeyed.

"Whiskey?" Zelda offered, knowing that they had decided to not drink themselves silly that night but a little night cap wouldn't hurt.

"Yes." Lilith agreed, lighting her own cigarette. Zelda could feel her eyes on her the whole time she poured a finger of the amber liquid into two glasses.

"How Long Has This Been Going On?" started playing on the record player. Zelda felt Lilith move closer to her so that when she turned with her glass Lilith was standing before her.

"Thank you." Lilith held up the glass and Zelda clinked hers against it. They both tossed back the lavender and honey whiskey, their eyes not straying from one another. Lilith placed her glass atop the bar. "You look ravishing tonight." She ran her hand over the curl of Zelda's hair, twirling her finger in the end of it.

"You're very kind." Zelda took Lilith's hand in her own.

"Do you think Mary is alright with all of this?" Lilith blew a cloud of smoke away from Zelda.

"She seems to be." Zelda nodded. "She has an awful crush on you."

"Really," Lilith's red lips curled into an amused smile, her eyebrow lifting as their hands clasped together.

"Really. But I can't blame her." Zelda could feel a power welling up inside of her from the close proximity of Lilith. It made her knees weak. She pulled their hands upwards, letting her fingers trail down Lilith's sternum. "You certainly make it hard to not stare."

Lilith laughed, a deep, dark laughter that Zelda felt reverberate in her chest.

There was a light clatter of porcelain against a tray which made Zelda and Lilith turn to find Mary carrying the tea in, almond cookies included. Mary adored almond cookies.

Zelda and Lilith's hands came untangled.

Zelda studied Mary, noting the way her eyes had widened. But she could tell that she was not upset. Intrigued, aroused by what she had come in to perhaps, but not upset. "I made some ginger tea." She sat the tray down. The cups clattered again. Mary's hand shook ever so slightly as she poured.

Zelda moved to her, took the teapot from her and sat it back on the tray. "Are you alright?" She whispered, cupping her cheeks.

Mary shook her head in agreement but then she shook her head from side to side.

"Oh, you darling woman." Zelda leaned in to press her lips to Mary's. This seemed to calm her.

Zelda could hear Lilith's sharp inhale behind her as their lips met. It made her body weak.

Zelda looked into Mary's eyes and found her calmed, smiling at Zelda. Her hand was not shaking as she picked up the cup and saucer to take to Lilith.

Lilith graciously took the tea and the trio settled before the fire, Lilith sitting on the rug beside Mary's chair.

"This is very strange for me." Mary finally spoke, breaking the silence around them. "I've…I've lived alone for all these years." She looked down into her tea cup, running a finger nervously about the edge of it. "I never imagined I would meet someone whom I cared about, deeply, let alone…two someones. It's all rather…you have to understand…"

Lilith smiled up at her, reaching to place her hand on her knee. "Of course. Sometimes, darling, the universe likes to make us wait. There's no rhyme or reason to it, but there has been quite a shift, a crack in the thread of reality around us, and it has brought us all here in perfect timing. Wouldn't you say?"

"It is rather interesting," Zelda conceded, watching as Mary covered Lilith's hand with her own. "That we should all meet up and align now. After Lucifer was killed. And we have all had our place in the undoing of Hell and we shall all have a place in creating what comes next."

"I don't think I'll be of much help." Mary was watching the way in which Lilith's hand tangled with her own.

"You will." Lilith smiled. "You underestimate yourself."

"Are you quite alright there on the floor?" Mary met Lilith's eyes.

Lilith laughed, "Why, do you have somewhere more comfortable for us to sit?"

Mary swallowed, glanced to Zelda. It was funny to her that they should find it so difficult to navigate this situation when they operated normally while all packed under the Spellman home. But now, now that there seemed to be an underlying current stirring between them, the tension in the room increased and unease settled between them.

Lilith shifted, came up on her knees before Mary. Mary's eyes flashed from Lilith back to Zelda.

Zelda nodded her head, a smile curling up the corner of her lips.

Lilith looked at Mary, put her hands on either side of the woman. "We don't have to go any further than this tonight, but I'd really like to kiss you." Lilith spoke warmly to Mary and Zelda felt her stomach flipping. How she wanted to see their lips come together. For kissing Mary – while lovely and visceral in its own right – was not something she could see.

Mary's breath hitched in her throat. She looked to Zelda again and then back to Lilith nodding her consent. And Lilith reached up to cup her cheeks, pulling herself up so that their mouths moved towards one another.

Zelda shifted in her seat as their lips touched and she could see that Lilith was a sensual kisser. Light at first, removed, pressed together again, Mary's fingers curling into the back of Lilith's shirt as she pulled her closer.

Zelda's fingers went mindlessly to her bottom lip as she watched, barely able to breathe.

Lilith pulled away from Mary. Zelda loved the flush, the glow that her face emitted. Those blue eyes opened and looked lost as they met Zelda's gaze.

Zelda was on her knees beside Lilith in an instant. Her body was on fire. Never before had she felt so turned on, so keyed up. She took Mary's hand in her own, looked up into those blue eyes and leaned down to kiss her palm and then her wrist. Mary shuddered, still holding onto Lilith's hand with her other.

And without notice, Lilith grabbed Zelda's face, turning her roughly to face her. Zelda inhaled sharply. Lilith turned her head as if she might kiss Zelda, holding her there with her hand, but their lips did not meet, only their eyes searched one another's, Zelda's breathing shallow, Mary's hand tightening in Zelda's. Until finally Lilith ghosted her lips over Zelda's and then she took Zelda's bottom lip between her teeth and bit her ever so roughly. Zelda gasped, felt Lilith's lips closing over the sore spot and sucking until she lost hold of Zelda's lip.

Zelda moaned in pleasure, in pain.

Lilith sat back, willing Mary to take over and Mary reached down, cupped Zelda's cheek and pressed a gentle kiss to her stinging bottom lip before Lilith reached for Mary again. Their lips met and Zelda watched until Lilith turned and kissed her again.

The enchantress settled back then, reached for her cup of cooling tea that she had abandoned on the ground. "Yes, I think this could work quite nicely."

Zelda could scarcely stand, so that she ended up leaning against the chair she had only just been seated in. There was something glowing within her, something radiating out from her inner depths. There was a spark that existed between the three of them. It felt strong, powerful.

"I should be going back to the mortuary, I think." Lilith stood, dusted off her pants.

"No," Mary protested and both looked to her a bit surprised. "I mean, must you go so soon?"

Lilith moved towards her, placed her hand on her cheek, her shoulder. "This has been a lovely evening. A lovely meal and even lovelier company. I do hope we can do this again soon." And with that she kissed Mary on the lips and then turned to Zelda.

She reached down for her, helping Zelda up – Lilith was far stronger than she looked – and pulled her right into her arms. "You can share those flowers with Mary, I think you more than earned them." She pulled Zelda against her, her kisses rough yet delectable. "I'll see you in the morning at the Academy."

Zelda parted from Lilith flushed and exhilarated. "Y-yes. In the morning."

And the pair watched Lilith go, neither able to move nor speak, only stare at one another.

And then Mary found her legs and she was up, ripping at Zelda's dress until they were both naked atop Mary's bed.


	22. Chapter 22

Her heart pounded wildly, a pleasant tightness rested in her chest, as she walked through the halls of the Academy. Her heels clicked as she walked and she reveled in the powerful sound of it reverberating off the quiet halls. Her body was taut, a lovely lightness carried her foreword. She peered into the classrooms as she passed, taking note that everyone was back to work at their magical studies and it thrilled her to know that she had had a hand in getting them there again.

As she turned the corner to the Dean's chambers she felt a hand reach out and grasp her. She gasped, thrown off by this interruption.

She whirled around and found herself trapped in a cove facing Nicholas.

"Oh!" Zelda gasped, her heart jumping a little at this surprise.

"I'm sorry if I…startled you." Nick stepped back, ran a hand through his hair. "I just wanted to let you know," he glanced around to make sure that no one else could hear them. "I overheard that there's going to be a meeting in the forest tonight. There's a boy, Levi, who seems to be the ring leader."

"Levi?" Zelda racked her brain for a boy by that name. "Samael Breslin's son?"

"Yes." Nick nodded. "Levi Breslin."

Ah, yes. Samael Breslin. She remembered the name well from her time at the Academy. He had been a year below her and had worshiped at the feet of her brother. There had been a time when he had followed her around like a lost little puppy dog and she had ignored him, had humiliated him at a Lupercalia ceremony by cursing the outcome so that they would not end up together. It was no wonder he would have poisoned his own son against her.

"I see." She nodded, patting his hand where it rested on her arm. "Thank you for letting me know."

Nicholas nodded, "I'll keep an ear out." And then as suddenly as he had come he disappeared. She supposed he had astral projected to her.

Zelda put a hand to her chest and closed her eyes to catch her breath. She had not been expecting to be cornered, had not been surprised like that in a long while. There had been no demons sat against her as of late so that her reflexes were out-of-sorts, nerves frayed.

A door clicked open somewhere down the hall, bringing Zelda back to herself. She pushed away from the wall and continued on to the familiar chambers. The scent of patchouli and cloves rose to greet her as she came upon the door. The pleasant twist in her chest returned as she pushed open the doors, bracing herself for a glance of Lilith.

She found the woman pouring over a book, smoking a clove cigarette, twirling her hair absently. Until Lilith looked up and her face warmed with a welcoming smile. "Well hello there, Zelda Spellman."

Zelda couldn't help the bashful smile that played at her own lips. How shy she suddenly felt, how shy and nervous. "Lilith." Zelda nodded, moving closer to the desk.

Lilith sat her book down and got up from behind the desk. They met in the middle, Lilith running her hand down Zelda's arm, gazing into her eyes with her own deep, probing, knowing eyes. "You look well."

Zelda raised her eyebrows, her eyes dropping to Lilith's lips that had so delightfully ruined her the night before.

"Is it alright if I…"

"Yes." Zelda nodded and Lilith's smile brightened. She pulled her closer so that their bodies aligned and leaned in, kissing Zelda as sweetly as she had kissed Mary the night before. Zelda's head spun.

"I certainly enjoyed our time together last night." Lilith squeezed Zelda's hand and stepped away from her to tap off her cigarette.

"It was very enjoyable." Zelda sat down in a chair, no longer trusting her legs.

Lilith leaned up against the desk, looked her over. "What is it?"

"Hmm…nothing," Zelda ran a finger over her forehead. "Well, Nicholas stopped me in the hallway. He wanted to let me know that there would be a meeting in the forest this evening. Against us, against me."

"Ah," Lilith nodded, putting the cigarette between her lips and inhaling. "I see."

"I think we should be there."

"I agree." Lilith nodded.

"I think we need to know what it is that they are saying against us and I think I know just who is behind it."

"Samael Breslin?" Lilith, always five steps ahead of her, asked.

"Ah, you know. Of course, you know." Zelda sat back.

"He doesn't like you very much."

"No. He wouldn't. I turned him down, wounded his pride when we were in school."

"How absolutely devastating for him." Lilith winked, turned to rummage about on her desk. "It seems that he has been heavily involved with the Academy. I believe he and Father Blackwood were quite close. He's a man who wants honor and prestige. He upholds Father Blackwood's ideals. I've been reading several letters I found in the top drawer of his desk." Lilith found a few folded pieces of paper and held them up for Zelda to take.

Zelda held the papers, glancing through their content to find that Samael had pledged his undying support to Father Blackwood's manifesto, stating that he would do whatever in his power to help make it real.

"He has a daughter." Lilith handed Zelda a year book, pointing to the portrait of an adorable young witch who had smart eyes. Zelda could tell that she was Samael's daughter by her looks – though she was more darling than he had ever been.

"How could he promote that horrid manifesto when he has a daughter?" Zelda rasped disapprovingly.

"Why does any man ever feel that he could take away the rights of a woman?" Lilith rolled her cigarette out in an ashtray atop her desk. "I've asked to speak with her. I want to know more about her family, about her. She is one of our top performing students here at the academy." Lilith tossed a report card to Zelda and sat down on the chair across from her.

Zelda took note of the high grades of young Lillian Breslin. She had higher grades than Zelda had had while at the Academy. "She's brilliant."

Lilith nodded. "Have you read Faustus' manifesto? It's disgusting."

"No, he never shared it with me. I was only aware of his ideals when the Anti-Pope arrived in town for our wedding."

Lilith took a deep breath. "It's like an insufferable presence has been removed and now we're left to pick up the pieces."

Zelda nodded, glanced to the desk and all the books spread out atop it. "What are you so diligently researching, apart from what it is we're up against?"

Lilith smiled. "Our way forward."

Zelda shook her head. "You're a wonder."

Lilith shrugged. "I have years of experience in this life that I want to put to use. I want to ensure that things going forward are different from what they have been. That we can have this sort of opposition without it leading to such a power struggle between us. Men verses women is old. It's tired." Lilith flicked her wrist.

Zelda's eyes widened. "But we should aim for it to be better than what it was before. We're women, certainly we should be able to improve upon how things have been…"

Lilith shook her head. "Every nation has risen and fallen because they have a leader who insists that they are bigger and better than what has come before. They push forward their agenda, force it down other's throats and beat them into submission all the while squelching the opposition. Do you want to run this new world that way?"

"But if we do not put forth some kind of position we will lose the people."

"No, we will open our Coven, our followers to a new way of understanding, of thinking. We can teach them how to be more understanding. We can help change people's perceptions of their lives."

"And you want to start with Samael and his children?"

Lilith laughed, "I think that is our first weak spot. I think we should be there this evening in the forest. Perhaps we'll learn something. Besides, we're smarter than they'll ever know."

Zelda shook her head, impressed by what it was Lilith was able to piece together, for Zelda would have surely run this into the ground given the sole responsibility. "I'm so glad that you're here."

Lilith smiled. "You would have figured it out had I not been." Lilith ran a hand through her hair and leaned forward.

Zelda frowned at her. "What is it?"

"Hmm?" Lilith flipped her hair over her shoulder. "It's nothing, only…there's something I need to tell Mary but I'm not sure how to bring it up."

Zelda felt a worried pang race through her spine. "What…whatever about?"

"Adam."

Zelda frowned. "Her fiancé, but he's dead. How do you…"

"Zelda," Lilith reached for her cigarettes, "I met him."

"What?" Zelda accepted a cigarette from Lilith, feeling uneasy about what it was she might tell her.

"He came back while I was still inhabiting her body. I had no idea who he was and I was going to kill him. It was what Lucifer wanted – Mary was supposed to have been an unattached, uncared for woman whom no one would miss. And then Adam returned. He threw a wrench in Lucifer's plans."

"You killed him?" Zelda puffed at the cigarette.

Lilith shook her head. "No. No, I would never. He…he was a lovely man. He won me over…I was…I was so lonely, you must understand, and he, well he was very kind. The kindest man I'd met in decades. And I…might have…"

Zelda needed a drink.

"I just don't know how to tell Mary, I didn't expect to fall for her as I have." Lilith admitted. "I don't want to go further with you, with her until she knows."

"You have to tell her. I know…I know that what she felt for him was not love, but…she deserves to know."

"And I intend to tell her." Lilith assured Zelda.

"What happened to him then?" Zelda asked.

Lilith inhaled a deep breath of smoke. "Lucifer."

Zelda was disgusted.

"You don't think less of me, do you?" Lilith hung her head, bending forward, elbows on her knees.

Zelda shook her head, leaned forward to reach for Lilith's hand. "We've all had liaisons in moments of weaknesses. If he gave you a sense of happiness, of not feeling alone in the world, then I can think nothing of it."

Lilith took a deep breath. "I only worry about what it is _she_will feel about it."

Zelda gave Lilith an encouraging squeeze and then stood. "We'll talk to her tonight. I think she will want to know the truth."

"Yes," Lilith wiped at her cheek.

"I should go. I must prepare for the forest. I was thinking a glamor, but now I think we should show up as ourselves."

Lilith smiled at this. "Yes. Yes, I think so." Lilith stood with Zelda and took her arm in her own, leading her to the door. "Thank you for understanding."

Zelda turned to her. "I think she will understand, too."

Their eyes met and it was inevitable that they should kiss one another again, Zelda's heart fluttering.

* * *

Zelda carried Letty through the house, having fallen asleep with her when she'd gotten home from the Academy. She had slept well into the afternoon, exhausted from the previous night's activities, worry and concern about what the night would bring lingering over her, making her lethargic.

It was past three by the time she padded down the stairs in her nightgown and robe.

She walked through the halls until she came to the study, pressing it open to find Mary sitting behind the desk, red pen running circles across student's homework assignments with the most joyous look on her face. She was so thorough, she caring in her assessments of each paper.

Letty cooed in Zelda's arms, causing Mary to look up from her work. She smiled when she saw Zelda standing before her.

"You were asleep when I came home. I didn't want to wake you."

"You should have. I don't know what's gotten into me." Zelda moved to her side, leaned down to press their lips together, delighting in the different but welcome sensation of Mary's lips. Mary's kisses were like home.

"Perhaps you needed to rest. Sabrina told me about the meeting tonight." Mary looked concerned.

"Yes," Zelda leaned up against the desk. "I'm curious to know what it is that they're so against."

Mary shook her head, reaching up to pat Letty on the back. "How was your meeting with Lilith?"

"Well, she has some interesting ideas about all of this. She thinks we need to move forward with more understanding and that we should embrace opposition."

Mary tilted her head in consideration. "I would say that historically speaking it does make sense to try to go about it this way. In my study of the world it seems that the more radical either side becomes the more fractured the society. There should be some healthy discourse. And if you can create a world in which that is facilitated then I think you might be on to something."

"I'm apparently dating two very diplomatic women." Zelda laughed. Mary smiled. "But I do see your point. It's only a matter of how to implement it."

"Ah, and that shall not be so easy to figure out."

"But, with some help, I might just be able to."

They heard the front door open and Zelda's heart leapt into her throat. Could that be Lilith already home? She felt her pulse quicken. How she wanted to warn Mary, give her some reassurance…but Mary would understand. Wouldn't she?

For how twisted was it that Lilith had been inside of Mary and had used her body, taken a rib from her, slept with her fiancé, overtook her life…and yet it had not been of her own volition. Lucifer had been guiding her step-by-step. She had not been in control of her own life.

Certainly, Mary would understand…

They both heard Lilith stop to talk to Hilda, making her laugh, and then they heard the click of her heels coming closer. She appeared in the doorway, those brilliant eyes peering into the room. Zelda could sense the worry and concern hiding behind her cool demeanor.

"Good afternoon, my darlings."


	23. Chapter 23

"Perhaps I should…go...help Hilda. In the kitchen." Zelda looked from Lilith's nervous gaze to Mary's warm glow. She wasn't sure she wanted to witness this coming conversation.

Mary looked up at her, "why are you rushing off?"

"Because," Lilith came forward, pressing her lips to Zelda's cheek, stroking Letty's cheek, and then leaning down to press her lips to Mary's. "I need to talk to you."

Mary looked up at her confused. "Me?"

"Yes. There's something I need to get off my chest before you…before we…"

"What is it?" Mary reached for Lilith's arm. She felt comfortable with her now that they had gotten their first night of awkwardness out of the way. For this Zelda was grateful…but worried. "Zelda, don't go." Mary reached for her, holding her near.

"Okay," Zelda consented, taking Letty to sit in the chair before the desk. The girl stared up at her so innocently, reached for Zelda's finger, wrapping her little hand about it and Zelda could feel her power pulsing through her digits. She would be so strong one day.

Lilith moved to the fireplace in the corner and lit up a cigarette. "It's about Adam." She stared at the mantel as she spoke, as if she didn't dare face Mary.

"Adam?" Mary sat forward, looking from Zelda to Lilith. "What about Adam?"

"He didn't die in Tibet." Lilith turned and looked at Mary then.

Mary's forehead wrinkled. She pulled off her glasses, rubbed at her face. "What do you mean? They told me that he died in Tibet, some disease that spread…"

"No." Lilith shook her head. "No. He showed up a few months ago. I had no idea who he was but he seemed to know you well. I…I was instructed to kill him but I…didn't. I found that I quite liked him." She brushed a strand of hair from her face and inhaled on her cigarette.

"He was here?" Mary's throat sounded dry.

"Yes, he came here. For you."

"What – what happened?"

Lilith waved the cigarette around as if searching for the right words. "He was very kind…no matter what protestation I made against him, it didn't seem to faze him. I…" Lilith moved to Mary, kneeled down beside her. "You have to understand that I was being forgotten in the grand scheme of Lucifer's plans. I felt so alone…and suddenly this very attentive man was there with me."

"He was always very attentive." Mary agreed.

"I slept with him."

Zelda's breath caught in her throat as she looked to Mary, to gauge her reaction. She was silent, processing what it was that Lilith was saying. Mary sat back in her seat, shifting away from Lilith. Her eyes found Zelda's. "You knew about this?"

"What?" Zelda felt her heart pound.

"No," Lilith spoke. "No, I only told her today. I just…needed to get it off my chest, I need to find a way to tell you."

Mary nodded, "where is he?"

Lilith bowed her head for a moment. "Lucifer killed him. He saw us getting close and found him a distraction so he killed him. I had given him a ring to protect him from harm but Lucifer found a way around it."

Mary reached out for her cigarette. "You tried to protect him."

Lilith nodded. "He was very kind…I thought I was going to be trapped in this world forever, I…I never intended on hurting you."

Mary shook her head up and down, as if in a daze, blowing smoke out the side of her mouth.

"Oh, be mad at me." Lilith stood up, sinking down into the seat beside Zelda's.

Mary looked from one woman to the other. "It's strange because it was my body that you used, though I know it was not by your will alone. It just feels…" Mary leaned forward on her elbows. "Adam and I never really…"

Zelda had not thought of it, but Mary was practically untouched by anyone. It was beyond Zelda's comprehension that Mary had existed as long as she had without having been touched lovingly by anyone. She was a woman who deserved the world and the world had handed her one painful experience after another. She was strong. So very strong.

Lilith nodded, looking quite guilty.

"It's fitting that I should have helped to kill Lucifer then." Mary shuffled her papers. "He deserved that, though I am not the only one he has wronged." She looked up, finding Lilith's eyes. "In a way, I suppose, I am glad that you were able to give that to Adam. You gave him what I could not and he deserved to have his love returned."

"You're not…mad?"

"Well, how can I be?" Mary pushed her papers down. "None of us asked for what came before. I was trying to help some girl in the forest, some creature, and look at what it got me!"

Zelda realized she had never seen Mary's feathers ruffled in such a way.

Lilith rubbed her forehead. "He took so much from all of us…I…"

Mary stood up, moved to Lilith. "Thank you, for telling me. I…I know what it is to be lonely in a relationship."

Lilith took her hands in her own. "Oh, Mary…if I could…"

Mary shook her head, leaned down, pressed her lips to Lilith's cheek and handed back her cigarette. "We must focus on creating a better path forward. I want to go to the forest with you tonight."

Zelda and Lilith looked to one another. They were more powerful as three. This seemed apparent.

Zelda reached out her hand for Mary. "Yes, I think that is appropriate."

Mary took her hand, squeezed it. "We're in this together."

Zelda nodded, using Mary to stand up and then she pulled her in so that she could kiss Mary. "Perhaps I should leave you two alone for a bit. Besides, I need to go help Hilda feed the twins. I'm…I'm so sorry for what has happened."

Mary nodded, pulling Zelda's hand up to kiss it.

Zelda moved to press a kiss to Lilith's cheek. "You did just fine." She whispered against her ear.

Lilith laughed, hollowly.

Zelda glanced back as she left and watched as Mary stood against the desk looking at Lilith who looked back at her anxiously. Lilith stood and went to Mary, reaching out to her as if afraid that she would deny her, but Mary accepted her hands and they stood together in a moment of understanding that felt more intimate than anything Zelda had witnessed pass between two people.

She felt her heart pound as she turned to go.

* * *

They walked through the forest quietly, draped in hooded robes. Zelda had done a searching spell to track where the group would congregate. There was an abandoned mine to the west of Greendale. It seemed fitting that they should take up post there.

The night was still, the sky dark as it reached the new moon. The moon had nearly completed its rotation in the sky since Lucifer's death. It felt that so much had happened in such a short span of time.

From the darkness emerged a golden glow off on the horizon. The three came to a stop beside one another. It was the glow of torches surrounding a clearing in the woods. They could make out a large crowd, the hum of voices floating to greet them.

"There's so many of them." Zelda's eyes widened.

"They're grasping for answers in this uncertain time. Don't let their numbers frighten you." Lilith assured Zelda.

They moved closer, Zelda taking Mary's hand in her own as they walked. Needing support, for which Mary understood.

They moved to the edge of the gathering, the sounds of the crowd grew louder. Zelda looked from one to the other, recognizing the men of the Coven as they passed by. It appeared that they were all there, every single last man. All set against her.

In a clearing Samael Breslin appeared, looking older and more bloated than she had ever remembered him looking. A hush fell over the crowd as they all turned their attention to him.

"Good evening, my warlocks." He greeted them, brushing a bit of sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief. "It has come to my attention that we are living in dangerous times. The Dark Lord has been taken from us just at the cusp of his long-awaited return to us. He was to lead us to a new and better future, but his life was taken from him by an unknowledgeable mortal with the help of our current High Priestess." He hissed the last of the word as if it were a distasteful bastardization of the word. "Such a feat cannot go unpunished. This was manslaughter of the highest degree."

Zelda's heart pounded in her chest.

"Zelda Spellman is not fit to lead us into this new world without the Dark Lord. She has no experience, no reverence towards our traditions and ways. She cannot possibly know what it is to lead in such a dark time. We cannot allow her influence to spread. After all, it was at her nephew's hands that our own Father Blackwood was put to death. She allowed for this to happen."

"He poisoned _your _children." Zelda spoke, moving forward into the clearing. She could fell Mary reach for her, but she moved of her own volition. All eyes in the crowd turned to her.

Samael looked surprised for a moment before he laughed heartily. "Well, well. If it's not Zelda Spellman in the flesh."

"Yes, I heard about your little fête in the woods and felt I should come see just what it was that _my_Coven was concerned about since you did not find it fit to come and speak with me directly."

"Why, but this is business that does not concern you."

Zelda laughed as she rounded on him. "It certainly sounds like my name was mentioned quite a few times in your rhetoric so I would have to disagree."

"This is merely a place for us to voice our concerns about the direction in which you are taking the Coven."

"If these are legitimate concerns that would help to build the Coven after this great shift, then I should be involved as the High Priestess of this institution." Zelda spoke coolly, firmly standing her ground.

"You needn't worry your pretty little head about such things. After all, you are only the High Priestess after a very advantageous marriage to Father Blackwood."

"Be that as it may, I have rightfully earned the title. Perhaps I would have obtained it sooner and through better means if I had been allowed to do so without marriage. It's interesting, wouldn't you agree Samael, that there has been no reigning High Priestess in the past who has not ruled beside her husband?"

Samael laughed, wiping at his brow. "No woman has proved herself worthy of the title."

"No woman has been allowed to vie for the title." Zelda corrected.

"And what makes you laudable of such a position?" Samael countered.

"I needn't justify myself to you or any of you. I am the High Priestess rightfully and it is my responsibility to lead you to my best ability." Zelda smiled, turning to the men of the crowd. "Now, I am acutely aware that I cannot possibly persuade you to willingly follow me. You find me weak, naïve to the ways of your boy's club. And perhaps I am since I was never allowed to participate. I don't know what it is to be a man, to feel so threatened by a woman that I must try to tear down any and all progress made to include her in the rebuilding of a new society. A society that has just crumbled because of the same ideals that you want to push forward again. Excuse my ignorance of your thought process, but I do find it a bit senseless. Perhaps, Samael, you could tell me what it is you hope to see going forward so that we can better understand one another."

"This is not about questioning your fantastical ideals. You killed our leader; both of our leaders and you wish for us to bow to you as if you're some kind of Goddess."

"I do not think I ask to be worshiped, only respected."

"I do think you might have lost our respect by killing Lucifer."

Zelda's lips curled into a tight smile. "If you do not understand what it was that Lucifer was asking from us, if you truly have no idea of what was actually happening, then I ask you to kindly inform yourself. I needn't stay here any longer. If you would like to continue to insult me and my family, by all means please do so. I am here to encourage some healthy discourse amongst us. Only next time I ask to be included." She turned to leave, but then stopped. Glancing back at Samael she caught the baffled look that danced across his face. "I would suggest you also consider what it is you would like for your own family. Levi here," Zelda's hand fell on his son's shoulder, "is a fine boy, but his sister outscores him in everything and you were about to support a manifesto that would demote her to a simple kitchen witch. Think about her when you're making such bold statements against me, against the women who support and care for you and all of you." She looked back to the crowd, to the astonished looks on all of the men's faces.

The air around her was silent as she moved back to Lilith and Mary who stood tall on the outskirts of the circle. It no more mattered what it was that Samael said. She needn't stay to listen to him slander her, poison every man against her. He was a scared little boy, just as frightened as the rest of them at no longer having their beloved father figure.

She strode forward, away from the men, head held high.

She could feel Lilith and Mary following behind her. She felt high, powerful in a way she had not felt in years.

She did not want to return to the mortuary, her adrenaline high. So that instead of walking south, she turned to the east and headed towards the cottage that sat hidden away in the forest.


	24. Chapter 24

She closed the cottage door behind them, leaning up against it to catch her breath, as if she had not breathed at all the entire walk there.

Mary and Lilith looked at her, Lilith's eyes watching the rise and fall of her chest, Mary's brow concerned as she looked into her eyes. And then Lilith moved forward, pressing her against the door. "I told you," she clasped Zelda's chin, pushing her head into the door, "you're more powerful than you know." And then her lips were on Zelda's lip.

Zelda groaned as Lilith twisted her, pushing her up against the door, pulling her robe down away from her body,

Zelda could feel Mary's eyes on them and it sent a wicked thrill through her to be humiliated in this way before her. Lilith's hand shifted up the hem of her skirt, stroking her as she bit at her neck. But then she removed herself, left Zelda undone and panting against the door.

Zelda turned, collapsing back against the door, watching as Lilith advanced on Mary. She was much gentler with her as she backed her into the wall, placing one hand by Mary's head, the other, that had only just touched Zelda, lifted to Mary's lips. She traced her fingers over panting lips, watching as they parted. Zelda watched as Lilith's finger, that tasted of her, was sucked between cherry lips. Mary's eyes shifted from Lilith to Zelda as Lilith cupped Mary's cheek, kissing her.

Zelda felt weak, her legs shaky as she pushed off from the wall, moving to them. Lilith pulled Zelda in, placed her and Mary between her arms and nudged for them to kiss. Zelda pulled Mary against her, opening her mouth, tasting herself on Mary's lips. Lilith's hand was undoing her skirt, pushing it away so that it fell to the floor. There were too many clothes between them.

Mary shifted, pushed Lilith's robe to the ground. Lilith leaned in to Mary, whispered something against her ear, and Zelda watched Mary nod up and down, her head falling back against the wall, Lilith's lips on her neck, hands running up her sides, pulling her dress up with them.

Zelda's hands moved to Lilith's bottom as she kissed Mary. Zelda loved watching Lilith as she tore Mary apart at the seams. Her hands reached up, brushing Lilith's hair to the side so that she could sink her teeth into Lilith's shoulder, her fingers and hands making quick work of removing the fabric barriers between their bodies.

Mary's hand reached for Zelda. She palmed her breast distractedly, Zelda covered her hand, pulled it down between her legs, all the while assaulting Lilith's neck, delighting in the knowledge that Lilith's hands were between Mary's legs.

Zelda let her hand slide down Lilith's arm, wrapping around her so that she could slide a hand beneath her slip, inhaling sharply when Mary's fingers slid between her folds as she let her fingers trail through Lilith's.

Someone whimpered, someone was panting, their breathing ragged, nearly in sync as they touched one another.

Mary's lips found Zelda's over Lilith's shoulder, Lilith turning to kiss Zelda, hands slipping, loosing grasp, finding one another again. A founding and refounding, a joining, a dance. Messy, unsynchronized, erratic.

"I can't…I can't stand." Mary cried, her body slipping down the wall.

"Come, come…" Zelda took both of their hands, leading them staggering, tossing tops and underthings as they went, a hand was on her lower back, on her butt, grasping, groping and then Zelda put Mary on the bed, Lilith attacking her from behind, kissing her neck before coming to stand over Mary's thigh, Zelda standing over Mary's other thigh so that they pushed Mary backwards on the bed.

Zelda pushed Lilith forward over Mary, delighting in the sensation of Mary's thigh between her legs, hand going to Lilith's back, tangling in her hair as she watched Mary kiss Lilith, watched as Lilith's hand buried its way between Mary's legs. Mary moaned, deeper and more pleased than Zelda had ever heard her moan. It drove her wild, she leaned down, replacing Lilith's lips with her own and Lilith moved to Mary's side.

Zelda straddled Mary as Lilith slide to the floor between Mary's legs. Zelda groaned when she felt Lilith's hand on her, touching her, the slight brush of her hair as she tended to Mary, making the woman beneath her lose all sense of the present moment so that Zelda could only kiss, circle her heaving breasts with her lips, all the while taken with her own pleasure being bestowed upon her by that ridiculously talented Lilith.

She could feel Mary's orgasm rising, the woman so ripe and ready to come. She called out, her eyes opening to look right at Mary, grasping onto her, her entire body nearly lifted from the bed so that Zelda could feel her own center pressed against her stomach. Mary called out, twisted in pleasure, in pain, until the wave passed and she fell back against the bed, gone, lost to them.

Zelda felt Lilith behind her, pressing kisses up her spine, until she was standing behind her. She took her hair, twisting it up in her hand and then pulled causing Zelda to stumble into a standing position. She was dripping, her thighs slick. Zelda could see that Mary's eyes were wide as she watched Lilith take Zelda and toss her forward onto the bed beside her.

Zelda's face went into the bed, feeling exposed, bared in the way that she was. Lilith pushed her legs apart, and just as Zelda thought she would touch her from behind, she felt Lilith's body cover hers, felt Lilith's arm snake across her chest, grasping her breast, pulling and twisting her nipple in the most painful of ways just as she sunk her teeth roughly into the skin on Zelda's shoulder.

Zelda called out, her voice strangled.

"Wh-what are you doing...?" Mary whispered.

"Shh," Lilith soothed her, Zelda listened to the sound of their lips meeting and then Lilith removed her body from the top of Zelda's. It felt as if her shoulder might be bleeding.

Zelda turned her head to find Mary's face beside her, looking worried. "It's okay." She whispered and then called out when Lilith's hand collided roughly with her bottom. Her face twisted in pleasure and pain, she groaned. The next slap made Mary wince and Zelda moaned, burying her face in the bed.

Slap. And then Lilith was inside of her. Deep, penetrating, pushing roughly, making her entire body shake, rock forward and then back. Lilith's hand came to slap her again roughly and then she was leaning over her, her teeth snagging Zelda's back, biting at her neck.

Zelda felt light-headed, sufficiently humiliated, and overcome by arousal at the thought that Mary was watching all the while. At this very thought she felt her body being pushed to its limit. Lilith's hand struck her again and she yelped, clasping at the bedsheets, pushing into Lilith until she could take no more and her hand was on herself, rubbing until she came, sputtering and exhausted. She twisted, falling into Mary's arms and Lilith stood up with a rather sadistic look on her face.

"Zelda," Mary kissed her cheek, held her close. "You're bleeding."

"Oh," Zelda sighed, turning so that Mary could look at the bite mark that had drawn blood. Her eyes met Lilith's. They smiled at one another.

Lilith lit up a cigarette and sat down in the chair in the corner, as if needing a moment to catch her breath.

Mary sat up, reaching for a tissue which she pressed to Zelda's shoulder.

Zelda looked to Mary, so in love with the way she cared so deeply for her. "You're so beautiful," Zelda ran a hand through Mary's loosened locks, pulling out a pin here and there so that her hair fully hung about her face.

"Is that what you like?" Mary asked, pushing hair from Zelda's face.

"Sometimes," Zelda cupped her cheek, pulling her against her so that she could kiss her.

"You're hurt."

"Make it better then." Zelda whispered and Mary bowed her head, pressing her lips to the bite mark and licking her blood, running a hand over Zelda's chest, smoothing over her stinging nipple that Lilith had tugged at. And then Mary was on top of her, leaning down to kiss her sweetly, gently.

Zelda's hands went to her behind, cupping her supple skin, delighting in the knowledge that Lilith was there, smoking and watching. And then Zelda coaxed Mary forward, moving her until her legs were straddling her face. And at first Mary was self-conscious about this – Zelda could tell by how stiffly she sat – but then when she lifted her lips to her and tasted what Lilith had only moments before tasted, Mary called out, relaxing against her.

And she felt the bed dip down, could see when Lilith came before Mary, holding her up and kissing her sweetly. Zelda watched as Mary fought to keep her eyes open, watched as Lilith puffed at her cigarette, fondled Mary's breast, held her close to her, blew smoke against her neck.

And then Mary was on edge again, so that her legs clasped together, Lilith's hand went to her clit, rubbing her until she fell to the bed in ecstasy and Lilith leaned down, pressing an upside-down kiss to Zelda's lips, smiling at her as she puffed her cigarette and then leaned back down so that she could blow a stream of smoke between Zelda's lips, which ended in a kiss.

And then Mary was above them, stroking Lilith's back. Lilith sat up to face her. Mary took her cigarette, puffing on it before Zelda took it from her. Mary's arms went about Lilith, kissing her as their bodies pressed together, Mary's hand daring to cup her breast, to run her thumb over Lilith's nipple.

Zelda moved so that she could lean up against the top of the bed, watching as she smoked breathlessly. Watching as Mary and Lilith put their hands all over one another, touching and kissing, sweetly, serenely. And then Lilith was guiding Mary's hand between her legs so that Mary was touching her. They looked at one another with such focus, Lilith pulling Mary's head back so that she could press her lips to her neck, sucking at her skin while Mary's hand moved against Lilith.

Lilith sighed, pulling Mary over so that the pair landed beside Zelda on the bed. Mary was on top of Lilith, working her hand between her legs diligently and Lilith was grasping at her, breathless and panting. And Zelda puffed at the cigarette, intrigued by her two brunettes comingling together before her.

She puffed at the cigarette, allowing her hand to slip between her own thighs, watching, watching as Lilith and Mary rolled about, their breasts touching, Lilith's earthy moans as Mary undid her, the way Mary's hair fell in a curtain over Lilith's face, the way that Lilith tangled her fingers in the tresses, pulled Mary closer to her.

She moaned at her own self-pleasure, at the realization that Lilith's groans were leading her to her own release and serendipitously they each reached their respective climaxes, Mary collapsing between Lilith and Zelda, the trio breathless.

Mary reached for the cigarette, nearly at its end, and inhaled before reaching across Zelda to put it out, kissing her in the process. She fell back against the bed and Lilith turned, looking up to Zelda who leaned down to press their lips together.

They laid there for several moments, needing a breather, the night having unfolded more rapidly, more perfectly than they could have imagined. Each seemed lost in her own world.

Words seemed a lost art for they had felt the earth shift beneath them. How perfectly they all fit together, how perfectly they could each serve one another. It felt whole to all be together as they were now.

There was touching, caressing, holding, kissing, gentle exploration. They took when they needed. Zelda sunk her teeth into Lilith's neck as if exacting her revenge. Lilith laughed, held her close, kissed her sweetly. Mary pressed her lips to Lilith's marks on Zelda.

Drowsily Zelda shifted Lilith on top of her so that Lilith rode her, palming Mary's breast. Lilith orgasmed slowly, leisurely, decadently. They shifted, rolled over, so that they were on either side of Mary, pressing lips to her skin, her lips until she was wanting so that Zelda shifted between her legs and Lilith sweetly tortured her nipples until Mary was rolling, shifting, crying out.

Zelda moved to hover over Mary, pressing her hand to her chest as she was so wont to do, feeling her strong life force kicking there beneath her palm. She pressed her lips tenderly, sweetly to Mary's, the schoolteacher so far out of her depths, yet thriving, swimmingly.

Zelda turned, let her hand trail down Lilith's cheek as Mary's fingers tickled over her back. Zelda could feel a strong sensation elicited from Lilith's body as she touched her. There was such a robust energy burning inside of her, something powerful brewing, stirring within her. As if everything Lilith had ever been through was there beneath the surface of her being.

There was a spark, a sensation that leapt out at Zelda, nearly electrified her. Mary shifted away, the sensation had been transferred to her. Zelda sat up, took Lilith's hands in her own, examining each finger, letting her hands explore each digit, feeling a brilliant, glowing energy as she did so. It was so pure, so radiant.

"Lilith." Zelda marveled. "You still have magic."


	25. Chapter 25

Their bodies were weak, exhausted, sore, piled atop the bed as the sun rose to peer through the window blinds.

Lilith puffed lazily at a cigarette. She lifted her hand. With the flick of her wrist the blinds fluttered closed.

Zelda smiled in the darkness, cuddling in closer to Mary, reaching for Lilith's morning cigarette to take a puff herself.

The war was not over, but the morning was peaceful.

Zelda could hear the birds chattering, could smell the sex on their bodies, the flowers in Mary's hair. Mary shifted to face Zelda, burying her face against Zelda's chest, Lilith butted out her cigarette and wrapped her arms about Mary, pressing her lips to Zelda's.

She moved in and out of consciousness. Mary got up, then Lilith. The smell of bacon and eggs floated to Zelda, Lilith was stroking her hair, they were sharing a cigarette. They moved to the table, draped haphazardly in slips, robes, straps hanging haphazardly down arms.

Mary kissed Lilith's shoulder as she brought a plate of bacon to the table. Zelda reached for her hand, pulling her to her lips to kiss her, hands slipping away as Mary sat down.

They laughed, ate, shared a cigarette, legs knocking into one another – whether on purpose or not.

It was as if they existed in a world that was solely their own. The pressure, the uncertainty of the future was all but washed away for the moment.

It was only a knock at the door, a rather frantic sounding knock, that jolted them away from their morning of leisure. Who could it be?

Mary was suddenly flustered, wrapping her robe tighter about her body, Lilith turning to the door with cigarette dangling from her fingers, and it was Zelda who stood up and pulled herself together to go and peer through the crack in the door. "Oh." She sighed, realizing who it was. She pulled the door open. "Hilda, what are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? You never came back last night I was worried…I was…oh…" she looked from her sister to Mary to Lilith. Her eyebrow raising in surprise and then she was nodding. "I see."

"Hilda, it's alright." Zelda pulled her sister inside. "It's okay."

"Uh," Hilda just mumbled, looking to Lilith whose strap slid down her shoulder and she left it there.

"Hilda, please don't act as if you've never seen this before."

Hilda considered this, reminded of all the times she had witnessed Zelda in a similar predicament. Though this time was different, very different for Zelda was in love with Mary. Was she also in love with Lilith?

"Hilda, sit down." Zelda led her to a chair.

"Do-do you want some coffee?" Mary stood from the table, her cheeks red.

"Uh, no…uh, yes. Yes, thank you, love." Hilda nodded kindly to Mary, glancing again at Lilith who only smiled at her through a cloud of smoke.

Mary took the opportunity to flee the scene.

Zelda lit up a cigarette in her holder and paced before the unlit fireplace. "Hilda, the men of the Coven were trying to blame us for all that has just happened. I rather put an end to it, though. At least I hope I had some kind of effect on them."

"Oh, you…you certainly did. Samael Breslin was at our place this morning, looking for you." Hilda smiled.

"Samael." Zelda came to a halt before her sister. "Whatever did he want?"

"He wanted to speak with you, about your plans. He wanted to talk with you…"

"I must speak with him."

"There were several calls this morning as well." Hilda announced as Mary returned with her cup of coffee.

"Calls?" Zelda warmed at the idea that people were contacting her. "Yes, well…I will be at the Academy at once. I shall receive them there. If they would like to discuss things with me then I'm more than happy to do so." Her mind was racing a mile a minute. Her job as leader was coming to fruition. She could feel it.

"So I take it you were successful last night."

"She was more than successful last night, she was triumphant. So very levelheaded, judicious." Lilith beamed.

"Good, it's so wonderful. I'm so thrilled…" Hilda smiled then took in the sight of the women again. "I, uh…I just want to understand…"

Zelda frowned at her sister, then followed her eyes to the other two women in the room. "Well, my dear sister," Zelda seemed to catch on to what it was that Hilda was eluding to. "It does appear that we are…all…together."

Hilda tilted her head, a wary smile forming on her lips. "And…were you going to tell us? What if Sabrina had happened upon something…what about Ambrose?"

"They needn't be involved right…"

"But, Zelda, they live in the same house as you often do. They're bound to run into something. Don't you think they should know?"

"Of course, of course. They will know…it's only that we…" Zelda looked to Lilith, to Mary. They had hardly defined it themselves. How were they to explain it to others so soon? It still felt so nascent. "I think we need some more…time. Certainly, you can understand, Hilda. For now."

Hilda nodded, held up her hand. "Yes, of course." She took a sip of her coffee and stood. "I…I think it's lovely. For all of you. I think it's very fitting, very nice."

"Do you?" Zelda breathed, realizing that her sister's approval meant the world to her.

"Yes." Hilda nodded firmly as she stood up, pressing a kiss to her sister's cheek, as if bestowing her blessing. "Yes. But I should…I left Prudence and Ambrose with the twins. They've certainly taken to them…"

"Yes, of course." Zelda nodded. "If anyone else stops by tell them I will be at the Academy later today."

Hilda saluted her as she hastily made her way to the cottage door. After politely saying goodbye to everyone, thanking Mary for the coffee, she was gone again.

Zelda turned, back to the door, looking back at the two women before her, realizing that their little bubble had burst. Real life had filtered back in around them. And she watched as Lilith's lips turned upwards into a smile and then they were laughing.

* * *

Samael Breslin was sitting in her office when she arrived.

"Samael, what a pleasant surprise."

"Zelda Spellman, your excellency." He stood, took her hand to kiss the back of it in greeting, very regally, very appropriately. Yet there was something lacking in his sincerity.

She watched him bow to her. He stood, his expression cold despite his smile.

She took the seat behind the desk and he the chair before her.

"It seems you left quite the impression last night." Samael spoke. "I was quite taken by your composure, your words."

Zelda brushed her hair behind her shoulder. "What is it that you would like to discuss, Samael?"

Samael smiled. "There are concerns about your leadership."

Zelda sat back, clasping her hands together. Waiting. She lifted a fresh cigarette and placed it in her holder. Lighting it.

Samael shifted in his seat. "The matter of killing Father Blackwood…"

"Ah," Zelda nodded, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "And what is it that you would have done?"

Samael coughed. "Given the circumstances, I would think he deserved a fair trial."

"A fair trial for poisoning the children of the Academy? Of the Coven? Do you know how many people would have died had we not rescued them all, taken them into our home, and cared for them?"

"Yes, I do commend you and your family for coming to the rescue in our time of need, but…"

"Would you have wanted Father Blackwood to return to his post, to continue on in his position as the guardian of these children, knowing full well that he might try to kill them again at any moment?"

Samael sat back, crossing his leg over his knee. His foot tapped.

"Is there another matter I might help you with?" Zelda crossed her hands on her desk.

"There is the matter of Lucifer."

"Ah, yes. It seems that you do not have a high opinion of me for killing him."

"The Coven did not have a say in the matter. You must understand, Ms. Spellman, that it was not only your family who were affected by his passing."

"And yet, it was my niece whom the Dark Lord wished to sit at his right hand, to rule beside him. I did not find it appropriate, you see."

Samael laughed. "You were afraid of a female ruler?"

"Not at all. I was worried about what it was the Dark Lord wanted for her. I think, if I can speak frankly, that she will make an excellent ruler one day. Though, I will let you know that the rightful High Priestess who is in line after me is Father Blackwood's first born. Leticia Blackwood, whom I have in my care as her Dark Mother and now guardian." Zelda lifted the cigarette to her lips and looked at the sweat as it broke out on Samael's brow. "It seems you will not be free of a female ruler for some time."

Samael smiled. "I would hate to think, Ms. Spellman, that you would take out all the men from the Coven. One by one. For some inane reason or other."

Zelda laughed then, "Inane? You still think that I sought out these deaths without any provocation?"

Samael's eyebrow rose. He looked at his nails. "You seem to have some personal vendetta against men, was all I was saying."

Zelda stared coldly at him. "You couldn't be more wrong."

"It would be rather, unfortunate, don't you think, if something were to happen to you..."

Zelda stood from the desk. "Is that a threat to my life?"

Samael shook his head, a thin smile playing on his lips. "Not at all. Only a minor observation."

Zelda squinted at him. "I would like to ask you, Samael, what is it that you would like? For us to lock heads for the foreseeable future? To be at one another's throats and fracture the already delicate Coven? Do you think by getting rid of me it would make things better?"

Samael smiled at her, laughed, stood from his seat. "Perhaps I have taken up too much of your time for today."

"Not at all, but if you must leave, by all means, please do so." Zelda gestured to the door as she took her seat again.

She watched as Samael bowed to her, taking his leave.

A chill ran down her spine.

* * *

She cuddled Letty in her arms, holding the girl close to her. She had never thought to worry about witches and warlocks against one another. They were meant to exist harmoniously together, to work together for the greater good of the Church – only now there was no Church. Had it all always been an illusion?

She looked down at Letty's peaceful face, sucking at a pacifier, staring adoringly up at Zelda.

"I won't let anyone harm you." Zelda whispered.

She felt the air in the room shift.

Lilith.

A hand came to rest on her shoulder, Lilith reaching down to stroke Letty's cheek. The dark, floral scent of Lilith invading her, so that she turned and buried her nose against Lilith's neck, inhaling her in.

"Who will harm her?" Lilith asked, pressing her lips to the crown of Zelda's head.

"Samael Breslin is afraid I'll kill all the men of the Coven. As if that would solve any problems."

"He threatened you?" Lilith leaned up against the desk before Zelda.

"Not in so many words…" Zelda sighed.

"We shall be diligent in protecting the mortuary." Lilith held out her hands, chanting some spell that Zelda had never before heard and suddenly two strands of black crystals appeared in her hand. "Here, put this on Letty." She handed the smaller to Zelda and then went about the task of affixing the black Onyx - for Zelda recognized the mystical stone almost immediately - around Zelda's neck as she fastened the smaller one about Letty's neck. "It will help you sense if she's in danger and will ward off anyone who tries to do her harm. It will make you feel better." Lilith rubbed her shoulder, Zelda reaching up for her hand, clasping it in her own.

"Thank you." Zelda looked up at her, the enchantress leaning down so that their lips locked together, so familiar now after their evening spent together. And where was Mary? Zelda longed for her...

They both heard the little gasp that emitted forth from an unknown intruder at the study door.

"Aunt…Aunt Zelda…" Sabrina was staring at them, baffled.


	26. Chapter 26

"It's true then."

"What?" Zelda's head snapped up.

Sabrina paced before the three women. Lilith in the arm chair by the fire, cigarette dangling from her fingers, Zelda – puffing delicately at her own cigarette - and Mary on the couch together.

Hilda was, thankfully, absent. Gone to see Dr. Cee for the evening. Zelda felt somewhat consoled by this, for she knew her sister would be disappointed in her for so carelessly leaving it for Sabrina to discover the way she had. Though the girl had not exhibited any ill will towards them, nor even shock.

They had waited for Mary to return from school before fully explaining the situation to both Sabrina and Ambrose. Ambrose was rather for it, had even sensed it happening from the moment Lilith arrived in their lives. But Zelda was surprised to find that it was not the relationship that was surprising Sabrina at all…

They all looked at the young witch. "You...knew?" Zelda spoke incredulously.

Sabrina shook her head. "Levi's been smearing your name all around the Academy. They think you're blaspheming the religion. They're using it as slander against you. I told him it wasn't true, that he was just making it up out of spite but you're...Auntie."

"Sabrina, what we share between us is nothing but love and respect for one another. You must realize that this is very much mutual. There is no secret coven or bond - no secret alliance, no pact to obliterate mankind."

"I know that, Auntie. But they are certainly talking about you. And Lilith and Mary even."

"How would they even know?" Mary spoke uncertainly.

"Oh come, they're masters of spells and espionage. If anybody wanted to keep an eye on us they could have." Lilith sighed

"I cast a protection spell over the cottage, it wasn't unguarded." Zelda snapped.

"Zelda, darling, we're dealing with dark magic. Very strong, dark magic. You must know that there exists a club of Warlocks who possess special powers and privileges. Have you heard of the Filii tenebris Dominus?"

"The sons of the Dark Lord?" Mary worked out the Latin and Zelda looked at her in delightful awe.

"I've always heard _about_ them, but have never actually known if they still existed or not." Zelda conceded, remembering the turn of the 18th Century when there had been talk of warlock exclusive clubs, mirroring the mortal society.

"I am afraid they do exist. I had assumed, incorrectly, that they would lose their strength when Lucifer died." Lilith inhaled sharply. "It makes sense to me now that Samael is the acting leader."

"Why would they target us?" Mary's cheeks were burning red.

"They lived and breathed through the leadership of Father Blackwood. Without a High _Priest_ to guide them, they fear their position in witch society. They probably see our...relationship as an alliance and the fact that I am involved frightens them."

"Because you're the last remaining deity?" Sabrina questioned.

"It would appear that way." Lilith nodded. "And I will not stand for these boys clubs and they know it."

Mary shyly shifted and then pushed her glasses further up her nose. "I do remember reading something about Hellfire Clubs in the late 1600s. They started springing up in Europe, a way for intellectual, enlightened men to meet up and step over the bounds of polite society. They called themselves monks and worshiped as if in a church. They had nuns – in the complete opposite sense of the word – who they brought in to be subservient to them."

Lilith inhaled deeply on her cigarette, rubbed at her neck. Zelda noticed this nearly imperceptible tick. "Yes, how very clever of you, Mary." Lilith's distant look passed. She beamed at Mary. ""Those mortal boys clubs were only the start of it. The warlocks were restless, needing an outlet from mortal society. Witches existed for so long, hidden away from the world around them so that they might not be discovered."

Zelda blew a stream of smoke to the sky. "We traveled all over the world to escape. Back then, once you left a town you were nearly untraceable." She remembered the many times that she and Hilda had had to pack up and leave. All the traveling she had done, as if to not only escape the witch hunters, but perhaps to escape herself.

She no more wanted to escape. She wanted to be here with Mary and Lilith and her family. This was home, finally. And she would fight for it.

"When the warlocks found these Hellfire Clubs, as they were later called, they infiltrated them. Secretly, surreptitiously. Until Lucifer himself came to the men and gave them special privileges, special powers. There were special rituals, rites, of course as all societies have. They were dark, they evoked Lucifer and he came willingly to them. He lifted them up, taught them that they could do no wrong, that it was possible to bend certain laws. The worst of these was that women were to be taken, to be had at whim." She inhaled on her cigarette again, flicking ash from her pants. "_Fais ce que tu voudras_."

"Do what you will?" Mary frowned.

Lilith met Mary's gaze. "You're quite the linguist."

Mary's cheeks reddened at the praise.

"But I haven't heard about any of this at the Academy. You would think that if they still had this…society that we would know about it." Sabrina had folded herself into the corner of the opposite couch next to Ambrose who held Judas cuddled in his arms.

"Cousin, there are many aspects to witch life that we are not always privy to. I can tell you, though, that I have heard of the Filii tenebris Dominus and they are very secretive and selective. I have never been asked to join, though anyone related to Edward Spellman would most likely be excluded."

"Why would they exclude my father in particular? Not that I'd want him to be a part of such a terrible group."

"They don't like mortals of any kind." Lilith had stood to pace by the fireplace. "Your father loved a mortal woman truly, unconditionally. _They_ use mortal women for their pleasure, as toys."

"That's terrible." Sabrina's eyes widened, her eyes flashing to Mary who looked equally put off by the principle of it.

Lilith shrugged. "It is an unjust club that Lucifer legitimized for his own pleasure and amusement. These men think that with the rise of a High Priestess they will be singled out and shamed. They are afraid they will lose hold of their power and position, especially without Lucifer or Father Blackwood to protect them."

"And we shall find them out. Samael has all but admitted his guilt. His threat to my life was confession enough." Zelda sighed, rubbing her forehead. She felt Mary's hand atop her thigh, consoling her.

"We will not let them succeed in killing you or any one of us. Their powers will be dwindling, it's only a matter of time. Since Lucifer's influence and powers no longer exist, their own powers will fade. They're grasping at straws." Lilith stubbed out her cigarette atop the fireplace and turned to Sabrina. "What is it that they say about us?"

"They said that Aunt Zelda was abusing her powers by fraternizing with the mistress of Satan and a mortal. And not just any mortal, but the mortal who was able to defeat Lucifer."

"They're only afraid." Zelda snapped, standing up to crush out her own cigarette, to pour herself a drink.

"They are afraid of a just society." Mary mused.

"Very much so." Lilith nodded in agreement, taking hold of Letty who was fussing in her crib. "No society will ever be just, though. No ruler perfect, even if she is a she. It's only that we will not stand for the needless torture or harm of others, nor will we allow for a society which isolates and excludes."

"I agree." Zelda coughed back her whiskey. "We are more powerful than they'll ever be." She spoke softly, the sentence sounding less than certain. Though she knew, knew it deep down that this would not be the end. Not by a long shot. It couldn't be.

She poured herself another finger of whiskey, feeling Mary's hand on her back, turning to look into her worried eyes.

* * *

Zelda looked down into the amber liquid that swirled inside the glass. She'd had too much that evening, her head was spinning. It wasn't good to be in this state, not at a time like this.

She looked up, watched as Lilith – shirt undone – held Mary – dressing gown barely covering her delightful frame - in her arms. Lilith passed Mary a cigarette that they had been sharing on the bed. Mary stared at the ceiling while she smoked – as if some secret answer might be hidden in the wood above them.

"Lilith." Zelda spoke, pinching the bridge of her nose before looking again to the glorious brunette who met her gaze expectantly. "What role did you play in the Filii tenebris Dominus society?"

Lilith had the decency to not look shocked by the question. She flipped a strand of hair over her shoulder, looking down at Mary who was now looking at her with wide, curious eyes. "I wouldn't say it was a role, Zelda." She laid back on the bed, Mary sitting up to look down at her.

"What do you mean…you were a part of it?" Mary asked.

"No…" Lilith took the cigarette back from her, blowing a stream of smoke into the air. "No. Lucifer wanted me to be a part of it. I had no real desire to do any such thing, but he lorded my position over me, made promises – that never came to fruition, of course. But I believed him all the while."

Zelda was at her side on the bed, stroking her cheek. "Lilith, what did he make you do?"

Lilith shook her head. "I gave of my own free will. _Fais ce que tu voudras_ and all of that…"

"Not if he was forcing you to be involved…"

Lilith looked up at Zelda, cupped her cheek. "I enjoyed it."

"I don't believe you." Zelda huffed.

"I was the highest prize, to any of the warlocks who succeeded in completing all of the rituals. It was twisted, this games that they played, the tortures they were put through. You name it, they were forced to do it. Withholding their ejaculations, sucking one another off, bondage, tortures, choking, near-death feats, knife-play…you name it…they went through the pain. And I was offered to them on a silver platter, to take of what they wanted, if they were to succeed." Lilith rolled over to sit up. "Darlings, it wasn't the worst of what I've been put through."

"They used your body, as if you were some lifeless being." Zelda insisted.

"And maybe at that time I was." Lilith shrugged.

"No. You're too intelligent for that." Mary insisted.

Lilith shook her head, stood from the bed to pour herself some of Zelda's whiskey. She sat down in the chair that Zelda had been seated in before, putting her elbows on her knees, bowing her head. "I followed him. I thought he was wise and I submitted myself to him as I had not submitted in the Garden of Eden. I thought he was the ruler of nature, but it was never him. He was as corrupt as anyone else…and I…"

"Lilith," Zelda sat at the edge of the bed. "He isn't here anymore. You've outwitted him. Perhaps for all of these years he's been afraid of you."

Lilith laughed dryly at that, tossed back the whiskey.

Mary sat beside Zelda, looking carefully at Lilith. "Did you…did you love him?"

Zelda gazed at Mary, shocked by the question, then turned her eyes to Lilith who was looking right at Mary. She gave her a sad smile. "Love…hmm." She sat back folding her hands over her chest. "I don't know if you would call it love. I wanted what he could give me." She considered this, gazing far away as if she had only just remembered something. "He wasn't bad in the beginning. When it was only he and I. We did share a certain kind of love, I suppose. A bond…. if you will. He was so charming, handsome. We spent the days making love, we were careless, carefree. I…I suppose I could have loved him then. He treated me as an equal before…" Her faraway expression morphed to disdain. "I thought I would rule by his side forever, but he only ever wanted me to serve him. But it's of no importance. Perhaps we needed one another in the beginning… but perhaps we outgrew one another."

She looked to Zelda and Mary on the bed, a wry smile playing on her face. A look of deep appreciation that all sensed, all felt. Lilith stood on shaky legs to return to them and they, in turn, wrapped her up in their open arms, pulling her to the middle of the bed.

They held one another in the silence of the night. Only the crackling of the fire in the fireplace could be heard, the wave of candles blazing about the room made patterns on the wall that they watched as if a puppet show from the realm of spirits.

"It's odd," Mary broke the silence. "I'm the only one of us who has never…"

Lilith and Zelda looked to her.

"Oh." Lilith's eyes widened. "Have you ever been curious about it?"

"Truthfully," Mary snuggled in closer to Lilith. "No. When Adam would try to touch me at night I'd go frigid. I'd wake up and feel it there…" She grasped at Zelda's hand.

Lilith turned to her. "Perhaps you were just with the wrong person." She kissed Mary.

"Or persons." Zelda added drowsily. "Would you like to…?" Zelda sat up on her arm to look at the darling schoolteacher in all her innocence. The alcohol had gone to her head, had warmed and loosened her body from the stress of the day, from the revelations they had made of what they were up against. Now she was suddenly thinking about Lilith inside of Mary as she had been inside of her and the thought aroused her.

"I…uh…I…" Mary flushed, looking from one woman to the other. "But you…"

Lilith grinned. "Oh, darling, we have magic. We can do anything you'd like."

Zelda leaned against Lilith's ear, "I want to see you inside of her." She whispered, her eyes devouring the anxious, virginal look that crossed Mary's face in that moment.

Lilith moaned, also unable to look away from Mary. She reached out and cupped Mary's cheek. "Only if you want it, darling. We needn't do it if you…"

Mary was nodding up and down, her breathing heavy.

"Yes?" Zelda sat up, leaning in to kiss Mary.

Mary deepened the kiss, pulled her closer to her as if she needed all the reassurance she could get.

Lilith was undoing her pants as Zelda kissed Mary up to the headboard of the bed. "I want to see her inside of you, I want to watch you come undone, I'll be right here, you see…" Zelda assured her as the dark-haired, blue-eyed beauty laid back against the pillows – looking quite like she was about to have a check-up at the dentist.

"It won't hurt, darling." Lilith was naked before her, then, having come to rest between her legs.

"We'll be right here." Zelda kissed Mary's cheek and Mary's dilated pupils nodded up at Zelda who cupped her breast, ran the pad of her thumb over her nipple, making Mary pulse upwards.

As if they all needed this distraction – this brief hiatus from the real world and its perils.

Zelda pulled Mary to her, kissed her as she fell to her side and Lilith chanted beneath her breath a spell that she had known for ages as she parted Mary's legs, felt her with her hand first and Zelda could tell that Mary was wet in anticipation, could sense the movements of her body, already so wanting.

Zelda held to Mary, pressed her lips to her shoulder, circled her fingers about her nipples in light patterns as she watched Lilith touch her and then Mary's legs opened wider to her, allowing her entrance, and Lilith entered inside of her. Mary called out in surprise at first, having not known what to expect but her body took to it, responded to the way that Lilith moved her hips and Zelda watched, rubbed her legs together, pulled mindlessly at Mary's nipples, kissed her cheek sweetly, whispered reassuring words in her ear. But she could see that Mary was lost to Lilith, to the strong sensation of Lilith inside of her – for Zelda could practically feel it as if Lilith were penetrating her.

Mary's legs wrapped about Lilith, called out as she clasped onto her, her eyes closed, lost to the ecstasy of it all. Zelda's hand moved to help, covering her swollen center and rubbing so that Mary's body shuddered.

And then Mary's body was shaking, writhing beneath Lilith and Zelda's ministrations. Broken cries fell from her mouth, her body overcome by sensations and she fell back against the bed, tears streaming down her face.

Lilith fell to her other side, kissing her shoulder, her cheek, waiting for her body to calm, to return back down to earth. Mary was crying. "I…oh, I love you. Both of you." She breathed, as if breathing her first breath of life.

And they kissed her cheeks and held her close.

The threat of Samael Breslin and the Filii tenebris Dominus a million miles away in that moment.

It was only the sounds of their breathing, the feeling of their bodies together, the silence of the night that held any significance in that moment.


	27. Chapter 27

Zelda emerged from a deep sleep, deeper than she had remembered ever having been in a long, long while.

There was velvet hair against her chest, someone's back to her, an arm about her middle, a leg entwined. And she no more knew where she began and the others ended. Her throat felt scratchy, her head pounding as she took in the light coming through the blinds. And how perfect it was to wake up to this…this warmth (almost too warm with so many bodies pressed against one another), but she knew that she never wanted to not wake up like this again.

She had slept coldly beside her sister for decades. Isolated, alone.

She smiled to herself, felt a cough rising in her chest so that she sat up and eased her way from the mess of limbs and delightful hair, pressing a kiss to Mary's sweetly sleeping forehead before she reached for her robe and a cigarette. She watched as Mary's body found Lilith's in the bed, the brunettes shifting together, filling in the hole that Zelda had just created and it was beautiful to see them so at peace, so together as they were.

It was much too early. She was quite surprised that she was even awake at such an unholy hour as this.

Certainly, Hilda would be up with the twins.

Only as she edged her way out of the bedroom to go and find coffee she heard Judas burbling in his crib down the hall. She went to her shared bedroom with Hilda and looked in to find Hilda's bed left neat and tidy. But she could not sense her sister's presence. It was as if she had never come home the night before. And perhaps she had not. It would not be so strange of her to spend the night with Dr. Cerberus, though for her to just leave the twins like this…

Zelda moved to Judas' crib, looked down into his wizened eyes. "Where ever is your Auntie Hilda?" She asked as he looked up at her. And then he reached up with his arms, coaxing her to lift him. She blew a stream of smoke to the side and reached into his crib. He had grown large, was nearing his first birthday so that when she lifted him he no longer felt like a child.

She looked from him to the crib beside him, expecting to find her darling Letty still asleep, but there was only the blanket under which she slept.

Perhaps Hilda was home after all.

Zelda made her way downstairs, into the kitchen, fully expecting to find Hilda zipping about – happy and chipper as always. But the kitchen was dark. There was no smell of freshly made pancakes nor coffee nor homemade breads, or anything that would remotely indicate that Hilda had been in the kitchen that morning.

She walked to the sitting room, peering out the window to see if Hilda had gone outside to do some early morning gardening. But the yard was clear.

Zelda's brow creased, her forehead pounding. She needed something for her head.

And as she moved back towards the kitchen to get one of those hangover cures that Hilda always had in the cabinet for her, she noticed something black and sparkly in the crease of the couch. She moved to the object, her heart pounding in her chest as she refused to acknowledge what it was.

Her hand went to her bare neck.

A strangled sob emitted forth from her. "No." She gasped, holding Judas close to her.

She did not want to believe…

She walked quickly back up the stairs, retraced her steps as if possibly by going backwards she could erase what it was she knew to be true.

She stood above Letty's basinet, peering down at the white blanket that rested haphazardly inside. She bent down, hand shaking, as she pulled it aside. She could have sworn her heart skipped a beat, for there was Letty's necklace laying in the child's place.

She didn't remember screaming, but she must have for there were doors opening and closing, feet on the steps, racing down the hallway and the door to the room burst open and everyone was standing around her.

She was stunned into silence, sitting on Hilda's bed, clasping Judas tightly to her chest, rocking him.

It was Lilith who quickly put together the pieces while it was Mary who sat on the bed beside Zelda, holding her.

Ambrose and Sabrina stood, furious, upset, frightened, asking questions, everyone's voices falling on Zelda's deaf, ringing ears. Letty was gone. Hilda was gone.

"Where is Hilda?" Sabrina was asking and Lilith looking at Zelda with deep, sincere concern.

"Enough." Lilith brought the commotion of the room to a standstill with her powerful voice. "We must use a tracking spell to find them. They're still alive, Zelda. They would not harm them, I know this."

Zelda just rocked. Dazed.

"They want us, not them." Lilith spoke resolutely.

"They might want Letty, she is the ri…" Zelda had to take a breath. "Rightful heiress."

"They would not be so stupid. They want your attention and now they have it." Lilith was pacing. "Ambrose, go and get the pendulum, Sabrina, bring me the map of Greendale."

"I'm so stupid." Zelda shuddered, murmured under her breath after the younger Spellmans left to carry out their tasks. "I've been so – so distracted I…it's my fault."

"Stop it." Mary turned to face her, shocking Zelda by her display of strength in the face of whatever this was. "This isn't your fault. It's none of our faults."

Lilith knelt before Zelda, placing her hand on her knee. "They want you to fall apart, Zelda. You can't fall apart. Not now."

"Zelda, Lilith is right. You can't let them get to you or else they win." Mary insisted. "It's all a mental game."

Zelda turned to her, eyes narrowing in thought. "Like you with Lucifer."

Mary nodded. "Yes."

"They have taken the things that mean the most to you so that you feel powerless. But you know that you can win them back. It's mind over matter." Lilith insisted.

"Why – why, wouldn't they have gotten to you or Mary?" Zelda felt her breathing calming, for herself returning to her body as the women about her consoled her.

Lilith smiled, "they know that where you go, we will go. They know that once you come to find your sister and Leticia, we will arrive as your backup and they will, undoubtedly, try and trap us. Especially you, Mary." Lilith took her hand in her other hand, holding her tightly. "They will use you because you are a mortal. They will assume you do not have strength, but you will be protected."

Mary's brow creased, "how?"

Ambrose burst through the door with the pendulum, Sabrina close behind with the map.

"Give me Hilda's hairbrush." Lilith stood up, reaching for the implements, spreading them out on the ground before her. Sabrina handed her the hairbrush and she pulled a few blonde wisps away from the teeth of the comb.

She enchanted the hair, used it as the conduit for her search and in a matter of minutes the pendulum swung out to an area in the forest. Of course, they would be in the woods.

She wondered if Hilda was harmed. She tried to tap into their interconnected mental telepathy – the way they had spoken to one another secretly for years -, but she felt nothing. No energy, no feedback to her inquest.

"Ambrose, Sabrina." Zelda stood up, proud that her body did not betray her nerves as she did so. "You will stay here and watch Judas. I will enchant the house so as not to allow anyone to enter."

"But Auntie, we're stronger if we go together…" Ambrose tried to insist.

"No, this is between me and Samael. Lilith and Mary will suffice as companions. You and Sabrina must stay here."

"That's unfair." Sabrina stamped her foot but it was Lilith who turned to the teen.

"Sabrina, please listen to your aunt. You will stay here. This is not a task for you." And the chilly way in which she spoke made Sabrina listen. At least enough to take Judas from Zelda so that Zelda could begin dressing – only she did so quickly and not with her normal pizazz. Her sister and her night daughter were missing. Glamor was the furthest thing from her mind.

* * *

The woods were calm and serene in the budding light of day.

Only the sound of snapping twigs beneath their feet and the watchful birds of the forest made any noise.

Zelda could sense Mary's uncertainty as they moved forward through the woods. Lilith had imparted to her that the forest would take care of her, that she needn't worry. But Zelda could feel her concern all the same. She was not a witch, had not been born with innate abilities – and yet, she had her own powers, her own magic that Zelda could feel coursing through her. She had felt it grow stronger when Lilith entered her.

And yet, despite this worry, Mary strode along beside her, as if ready to face whatever it was they might find. Not showing her fear in the slightest and for that Zelda found her strong. Stronger than she felt. For as they walked further into the woods, closer and closer to their mark, Lilith leading them through her finely-honed senses, Zelda felt less and less certain of herself.

Lilith turned, as if intuiting this growing weakness inside of her.

They came to a halt and Lilith walked to her, took her by the shoulders. "None of that."

And then she turned, walking on.

Zelda stood stunned for a moment, unable to move. And then as if a trance had been lifted from her she felt in her body again. Mary nudged her. They continued forward.

They came towards a clearing. Somehow distantly familiar. The air was thicker, warmer.

Mary froze beside her, glanced about them. "But this is…"

Zelda knew and somehow she knew that Lilith sensed it as well.

The hallowed grounds that had drawn Mary to them in her childhood, where she had seen unspeakable, fantastical things playing out before her, the place that had comforted and consoled her when she had nothing else. And it seemed only a second ago that she and Mary had laid upon the ground in the center of this open expanse, naked.

It laid barren before them. Yet, there was a strong, pulsing energy that radiated outwards, as if pulling them in.

Lilith stood, surveying the forest, looking for a sign, some signal that they were near.

And then Zelda heard a gasp and before she realized what was happening Mary was snatched from them, disappeared as if into thin air.

"They've put a cloaking spell over the place." Lilith shouted.

Zelda's blood boiled. She grasped at Lilith's hands, the pair locking eyes as they chanted. Their power combined was strong, pulsing, sparking. It coursed through Zelda like an intense orgasm, from head to toe.

A great wind blew up and slowly the mirage that had been sat before them lifted, shifted, re-sorted itself.

Hooded figures appeared before them, standing silently, still, waiting for them. There was no sign of Hilda or Letty or Mary. Only the bodies in the black robes, faces concealed behind their hoods and the woods about them burned a sudden red – gone was the light of day. It was as if they had returned hell to Earth.

And the rows of robed bodies stood. Staring, hands clasped. Silent.

It felt as if they were trapped in a soundless abyss, Zelda couldn't hear – as if she had cotton in her ears.

An image flashed before her of Letty's lifeless body covered in blood, her eyes missing.

It shocked her so that Lilith had to reach for her, grasping at her chin, forcing her to look her in the eyes. "It isn't real." She mouthed. Zelda understood.

Lilith clasped her hand, pulled her forward through the line of bodies. They did not move. They felt solid, lifeless and Zelda began to wonder if they were real at all. They brushed past the rows of robed bodies. No resistance was given to them. They could move forward freely.

It felt like ages before the blaze of fire shown before them.

Zelda saw Hilda burning on a stake.

_It isn't real_.

She blinked. There was nothing before her.

They moved forward again, towards the wall of fire.

A central figure stood, large, robust in the black robe.

Zelda saw Mary's lifeless body in his arms.

_It isn't real_.

She clasped Lilith's hand, holding it tightly and lifted her own hand, chanting silently, forcefully. The images about them slowly, reluctantly faded away, as if a strong magic was fighting against her. She was harnessing Lilith's power on top of her own to tear away this façade.

And slowly it all blew apart. The rows of robed men dropping, disintegrating into the earth and the blue sky of day, the green of trees, the chirping of birds returned. But the hooded figure before her remained.

A shell of men stood about him and there was Mary on his right, Hilda on the left with Letty in her arms. Bound by magic to remain as they were, unmoving except for their eyes.

"Suscipiat. Filii in tenebris Dominus fuerint expectantes vos Zelda."


	28. Chapter 28

"Samael, you needn't put on a show for me." Zelda stared at the hooded figure before her.

The figure lifted his hands to the hood, pulling it up and away from his head, revealing himself. A smug look rested on Samael's face. "You have succeeded in getting this far, and for that I must commend you. But this is only the beginning."

"What is it that you are trying to prove here, Samael?" Zelda paced before Lilith. "You have taken all that matters to me, except Lilith whom I don't think you can touch."

Samael smiled, evilly. "She is no longer protected by the Dark Lord."

"Then trap me." Lilith stood forward, daring him.

His eyes flashed to her, a jolt of energy shot in her direction and she stood firm, the wave passing through her so that she was left untouched.

"It may not appear that the Dark Lord lives on, but I am still here, still as strong as ever. With or without him." Lilith laughed, sending a shock back at the hooded figures so that their faces were instantly revealed. Levi stood amongst the men and boys, a mirror image of his father.

Samael retaliated then in his own way, laughing as he drudged up the strength to take Lilith, to pull her to him. He put his hands about her neck. "You were put on this earth to serve the Dark Lord, to serve us all. You have no power above that."

A powerful force knocked him backwards, caused him to lose his grip on Lilith. Zelda had sent the ripple this time.

"Enough." Zelda spoke firmly. "She is not a play toy. She's as human as you are." Zelda stepped forward keeping her hand extended so that Samael was trapped from moving. "Now I have tried to be respectful of you, of your family, Samael. I have spoken to you, to all of you, and I have expressed that I do not wish to take away any of your powers, to demote you as men, as members of this coven. Yet, you treat me, you treat my family in this manner."

"Respect? Oh, my dear Zelda. Had you respected Father Blackwood the way you should have, perhaps we would not be here."

Zelda stood still, looking at Samael. "He cursed me to be nothing more than a brainless, idiot. He stripped me of my self, he took away my personhood."

"As was his right as your husband." Samael grimaced, used his powers to pull himself out of Zelda's grasp. "You will pay for your crimes, Zelda Spellman. And once you and your night daughter are disposed of, I will claim the title of High Priest, as should have been my rightful title."

"You have no claim to the title." Zelda spat.

"As though you have true claim to it." Samael retorted. "You with your unnatural relations, your worship of the female form. We've watched you, night after night communing with this mortal and with the Dark Lord's servant. We couldn't possibly have a leader who has such despicable practices. If you cannot love a man, then you cannot possibly know what it is to lead. You wed Father Blackwood for the power – how could we ever trust you to lead us, all of us, when you have no regard for men? When you killed our Dark Lord?"

Zelda laughed in his face. "No regard for men? I will have you know that I loved my brother. I had great respect for him and for his vision for this coven. He wished to include women and mortals in our practices and _he _was a man. He led this coven admirably and you accepted his practices then. Why should it be any different now only because I am a woman who happens to love other women? Could you not treat me as you treated him? Am I so different just because I lack something between my legs?"

She felt the rapidly advancing creatures. They raced towards her through the woods.

Lilith turned so that they were back-to-back and with a clarity that had been lacking for some days, she and Lilith made quick work of warding off the wolf-beasts, killing them one by one until they all lay dead mere inches from their feet. Blood had splashed all over, staining everything.

Zelda looked around wildly, realizing that the group they had been standing before had disappeared. Mary and Hilda and Letty were gone. "Shit." Zelda cursed.

Lilith took her hands and they chanted again, finding themselves thrust into yet another plane. There was dead air about them, a rotting stench coming to greet them, the trees about them black and dead. One tree rose up before them and Zelda grasped at Lilith. Three black, dead figures – one small, two large - hung lifelessly from the branches of the tree.

"No." The sound echoed through the endless chamber that they were trapped in.

_It wasn't real_…

Lilith stood in front of her so that she couldn't see, took her hands again and in an instant, they were back in the forest, amongst the trees, in the light of day.

No one was there. They were alone again.

"What is he doing?" Zelda stamped her foot.

"He's hiding them somewhere on another plane, but they're here…they're…"

"I can't see them…I cannot see them like that again." Zelda covered her eyes, trying to erase the memories.

"He's only taunting you. Don't give him the power." Lilith placed her hand on Zelda's forehead, the images fading slowly.

"Where are they?" Zelda moaned.

"Shh." Lilith covered Zelda's mouth, closed her eyes.

There was a rumbling somewhere deep in the ground. It began to shake beneath their feet and then suddenly Mary emerged, clasping onto Hilda who was still holding Letty.

Mary was breathing deeply, trying to catch her breath. "You were right." She brushed dirt off her shirt and Zelda stared shocked at her stoic expression. "I know this land like the back of my hand. It protected me."

"Where were you?" Zelda gasped.

"We were hidden in the earth. They had Hilda tied up, but it seems this ground is hallowed and within it I seem to have some kind of power. I freed her and Letty and was able to climb out." Mary easily explained as if it had been all so simple.

"She really does have excellent strength." Hilda commended her.

"Oh, Hilda." Zelda reached forward to wrap her arms about her sister but she suddenly disappeared into thin air. "Oh!" Zelda staggered backwards. Where had her sister gone? She turned wildly, only finding that Mary was still there, still very much in the flesh.

"That wasn't Hilda." Lilith explained.

"But you're really Mary, aren't you?" Zelda turned to Mary who looked as shocked as they all felt.

"Yes…yes, of course, but that was…"

And just like that Samael appeared before them, his face reddened as if he were using up every last bit of his magic to keep up this charade. He wheezed out laughter. "Your precious mortal may be protected on this land, but your beloved sister and Leticia Blackwood are not."

"What is it that you want from me?" Zelda stepped forward, no longer afraid of this monster. Whatever he wished, she would do.

"Your life." He held out his hand for her.

"My life in exchange for the lives of my family?" Zelda continued forward, ignoring his outstretched hand. "You would take my life, blood-for-blood?"

"You killed our High Priest and you killed our Dark Lord in order to reign. You are the one who started this blood bath. It is your fault."

"And you will continue it by my death." Zelda looked him straight in the eyes, those cold, lifeless dark eyes. He had died inside long ago. "If you find that this is the only solution for us to move forward, if you believe that this is what is best for the coven, then take my life."

"Zelda!" Mary gasped, but Lilith grabbed for her, putting a hand over her mouth.

Samael smiled at this, brandishing a sparkling silver knife. It gleamed in the sunlight.

"Sanguis enim sanguinem." He lifted the knife high above his head. Zelda could hear Mary whimpering behind her.

And suddenly Samael's eyes grew wide in shock. He stumbled, dropped the knife, clasped his back, called out, and then he came crashing down to the earth. The ground shook where he fell.

"Father!" Levi called out, racing to his father's side as he fell, shocked that anything should have happened to him.

And Zelda, whose pulse had quickened, breath suddenly rapid, looked up to find Sabrina looking at her from across the forest. She had killed him.

"Father, no!" Levi was crying, touching his father, rolling him onto his back.

Zelda shook her head. "No."

"Zelda, he's dead…let's get Hilda…let's…" Mary was at her side, grasping for her to come.

"No." Zelda stood firm.

"Lilith, do something!" Mary cried.

Zelda fell to her knees, crawled forward to Samael. How angry he had been, how very angry and scared. Scared that he could lose his powers, scared of what may happen to life as they knew it. Scared because everything had changed so rapidly, changed so that there was nothing and no one to believe in and he had wanted that power.

Levi tried to push Zelda away but she moved him to the side. "No." She kept repeating. There had been far too much bloodshed. It wasn't worth it, it wasn't necessary. There had to be a better way forward.

She raised her hands and everyone stood hushed as she closed her eyes. She chanted the spell, feeling the great energy that it took to revive the man below her and when she heard him moan, his body shift on the branches and twigs beneath him, she knew that it had worked.

"Auntie, what have you done?" Sabrina was upon them. But Lilith moved to keep her back.

Zelda was only focused on Samael's face. It twisted in anger and then pain and then astonishment, gratitude. They shared that moment. He looking at her and she at him. He could still kill her, he could still lift the knife that was only inches from his hand.

But he didn't.

He looked at Zelda, astonished.

"Non magis mortem." She whispered.

He lifted his hand. She watched the motion.

The earth shook again, Hilda emerged with Letty in her arms. Zelda looked at them, looked to see that they were really, really in the flesh, alive, unharmed.

Hilda had tears in her eyes, was shaking her head up and down. It was her. It was truly her.

"Hilda," Zelda stammered, stood from her hunched position. There was blood on her hands, her red hair hanging tangled in her eyes, she realized as she moved forward, tentatively, reaching, reaching for Hilda, for Letty and this time their bodies did not disappear. This time they remained.

Zelda took Letty in her arms, felt arms wrap about her, turned into Mary's embrace, pressing a kiss to her cheek, feeling Lilith's calm presence beside them, reaching for Hilda.

Her body shook, uncontrollably.


	29. Chapter 29

"But I don't understand." Sabrina sat at the fireplace wrapped up in a blanket. "Why did you bring him back? He would have killed you."

Zelda sat her teacup down on its saucer, hair hanging damp about her face, having washed out the demon dog's blood and the stench of burning, scorched earth. "No, he wouldn't have been able to." She shook her head.

"I wouldn't have allowed it." Lilith entered the room, rubbing water out of her hair with a towel.

"Nor would I." Mary, who sat curled at the other end of Zelda's couch lifted a cigarette to her lips. Her nerves were rattled from the day.

"But Sabrina," Zelda sat forward, took her niece's hands in her own. "You were brave to do what you did. It shows a great strength which I know you possesses. You were able to find us on that plane to kill him and that took great skill."

"I couldn't let him hurt you. Any of you." Sabrina's eyes were welling with tears. "He is a bully. Just like his son. I just don't understand why you would keep him alive – you saw how dangerous he was."

"Love," Hilda reached for her niece from the couch where she sat with Letty tucked in her arms. "What Samael did was to test your Aunt. He wanted to prove himself, he wanted the power that Aunt Zelda possesses so he was challenging her."

"And she succeeded." Lilith came to sit next to Zelda on the floor.

"But he's still alive…he could still…"

Zelda smiled. "If I were to have died you would have been heartbroken. Just like Levi and Lillian would have been heartbroken to lose their father. Even if he is a tyrant. He only needed to be taught a lesson, he needn't die." Zelda sat back on the couch. "We are living in a world, you see, where we feel that we must always fight against one another. Where one side is bad, where the other is good. But the world is not so black and white." Zelda sipped her tea. "We don't need him to die or to lose his position to prove a point. We need to establish new bounds to deal with the opposition, to deal with people who have opposite perspectives from us."

"He was insulting to you." Sabrina turned to Lilith. "He spoke as if he felt that women were below him, were supposed to be subservient to men."

Lilith nodded. "Yes. And for years I did serve Lucifer. I thought he was my savior, I thought he cared for me, was looking out for my own best interests. But, Sabrina…" Lilith reached for the girl's hands, "when I came to Greendale and met you – I saw how strong you were. I saw that you wrestled with right and wrong and you tried to always chose the high road. When Lucifer instructed me to have you carry out the steps that would lead to the heralding of the end times, I knew that I could not simply use your darkness to tempt you. I knew I had to use your sense of justice, of what was right. You want to see the best in people and that is admirable. You saw what was good in me before I could see it."

Sabrina smiled at this. "I helped you?"

Lilith nodded. "I am my own person now. I have my own powers, my own sense of self apart from Lucifer."

"But what has Samael learned? He still has his power, his brotherhood…he could still harm us." Sabrina insisted, looking back to her aunt.

"If I had allowed him to die then it would only set forth the precedent that I wanted to rule by bloodshed."

"By bringing Samael back, your aunt was showing him and the Filii tenebris Dominus leniency." Lilith added.

"Yes." Zelda nodded. "When we killed Lucifer, you see, it was a leveling. People like Samael do not want to acknowledge that we are all equal. That we are all human – capable of good and bad, right and wrong. Lucifer perpetuated this divided line of thought, kept us separated for years and we only just…we only just woke up to the possibility that things could be another way. That we could use our powers outside the bounds that were set forth by the Church."

"That was why you could bring him back…that was why…because you never would have before." Sabrina's brow creased.

Zelda nodded. "Yes. I've realized that I have more control over how I use my powers than I knew."

"Does Mary have powers?" Sabrina looked to her favorite teacher – whom she now felt she could refer to as Mary for she had become a permanent fixture in the Spellman home.

Mary laughed, passing her cigarette to Lilith. "Hardly. It was only that I have a special connection to that ground. It was…it was my haven when I was younger. I knew that nothing could harm me, could harm us, there."

Sabrina looked from Mary to her aunt to Lilith. "The three of you have something very powerful between you. You…you need one another…"

Zelda considered this. "Perhaps. Though by finding one another we were able to find ourselves."

"We're stronger than any force that may come." Sabrina looked to everyone in the room.

"Who's to say?" Lilith, playing Devil's advocate, shrugged. "We won't know until it comes, but when it does we will face it. Together."

* * *

Zelda stood before the crowd, looking out at the faces of the coven. She no more knew if they despised her or adored her, only that they were watching her with rapt attention. She saw, there in the back, the large form of Samael and his family beside him. Lillian, the darling girl with soft curly blonde locks, looked up attentively at Zelda. Her eyes sparkled with a great reverence.

"Witches and Warlocks." Zelda found her voice. "It has come to my attention that though I assumed the role of High Priestess, I was not the likely or liked candidate for the job. For so many years you have seen powerful, male figures taking up this post. You have yet to see a High Priestess in the long succession of leaders. I had not expected, nor anticipated a backlash to myself, to the actions that preceded my taking of this role.

"I have been made aware of the opposition towards myself, towards my family. We have lived under scrutiny for decades, since my brother, Edward, took a mortal for a wife. You were not enthralled with his decision, as you were not taken by my leadership. But sometimes change, growth can be painful.

"I was challenged in my position. I willingly offered my life if it might make things better. Instead my opposition nearly lost his life.

"I do not expect that any of you should welcome me with open arms and embrace me wholly as your leader. Instead, I welcome your dissent. Yes, we have lived too closed off from allowing opposition for too long. You are free to question the world around you, to hold opposing views, to not agree with your neighbor. But I do ask that you try to find the middle ground between yourself and others.

"You may argue that I took Father Blackwood's life unjustly, though left as it was, he could have killed off the entirety of the coven. I think that no matter how it was viewed, what he did was wrong, immoral even within our church. To take a life is to extinguish someone's life force. To willingly take of an entire group selfishly does not show great leadership.

"Further, the Dark Lord had to be sacrificed. He was a threat to the world, to our practice as witches and warlocks. He sought complete control at the expense of our souls. We would have submitted ourselves to his dark will which took from our own free wills.

"It is my goal to lead us forward under a new paradigm. I am here to offer you a better way forward. No matter our differences, I ask that you show up for your fellow brethren, that you do not shy away from having hard conversations, facing the rough differences before you. So, I tell you that while I am in the position of High Priestess, I will see to it that everyone is regarded as a whole person with his or her own likes or dislikes, his or her own opinions and beliefs. There is room for all kinds, but I do hope that there is no more bloodshed amongst us. I fully believe that if we can come together in this, we will be stronger than ever before. We will be able to face anything before us if we try to understand and look out for one another."

And for the first time that she had spoken before the coven there was a stunned, hushed silence before she heard the sound of two hands clapping together slowly at first. She looked out, found that Samael had risen from his seat and was applauding her.

Slowly others rose. The men that had politely applauded her before were on their feet, clapping, the women about them looking stunned before joining in the sea of applause that engulfed Zelda, made her feel a power that raced through her, her entire being tingling with a new, radiant sensation.

* * *

The evening was quiet. The sounds of cicadas chirping in the trees nearby were the only sounds that interrupted the peaceful calm.

The fire blazed beside them, Lilith making light circles about Mary's breast as Zelda held Lilith in her arms. There was an exhausted release amongst them. Everything was in its rightful place. Hilda was home in her bed, Letty and Judas in their cradles, Sabrina and Ambrose cared for and away in their own rooms. The house was at peace. The world around them, for now, at peace.

So that they had this moment to sit in silence, to touch and hold one another in the calm.

"I think we should get out of the country for a while." Lilith yawned, putting an arm about Zelda's thigh.

"Where would we go?" Zelda pressed a kiss to her neck. It had been ages since she'd traveled (barring her time with Faustus on their honeymoon – which truth be told she only remembered the first night for she was cursed after that…).

"I've…I've never been out of the country." Mary confessed quietly, looking shamefully away, towards the fire.

"What?" Zelda was surprised, for a woman who had studied history had never actually visited the world outside of Greendale?

"I just…never…"

And Zelda wanted to take her absolutely everywhere. She wanted to show her the world in which she had lived, year after year. She used to travel when she was bored, gone for years at a time. Until finally she grew bored with the world, but now…if she had someone new to show that world to…someone whom she knew would greatly appreciate it…And Lilith! Oh, Lilith would be a wonderful guide.

"We absolutely must. Mary must experience everything." A look of excitement crossed Lilith's face. "And I know just the place to start with."


	30. Chapter 30

Zelda had every faith that Sabrina and Hilda and Ambrose could manage things without her. She knew that if anything happened she could astral project back to Greendale at a moment's notice. Samael had offered to help with the school and Zelda, in an act of trust, allowed him this post for the time being. They had come to a great understanding, had even shared cigars and whiskey together one late night at the Academy.

Their journey began in New York City, as Mary had traveled there once as a young girl to see a stoic aunt. She only ever remembered playing on a narrow balcony of a tenement building, staring longingly out at the romantic slope of the city skyline. She'd wished to venture further, but her aunt had been elderly, choosing to stay inside.

Now they had free reign to venture where ever Mary's heart desired. They stayed at the Plaza Hotel. Indulged in long baths together with the windows wide open, undressed one another and made love on white sheets, ordering room service so that they needn't leave unless they wanted to. They walked through Central Park, they stared at the apartments along its edges, they basked in the silent nature about them. They went to see a show on Broadway, they traveled down to a dive bar in the Village where Lilith put her hand up Zelda's skirt beneath the cover of the bar, Zelda had slow danced with Mary, touching her furtively so that they took a flustered taxi ride back to the Plaza.

They left late one night from JFK and landed in Paris the next morning. Mary was beside herself so that she wasn't even tired after the flight. She led a tired Zelda and Lilith through the streets and promenades so that they had nearly seen the Arc de Triomphe, The Louvre, Notre Dame, and Centre Pompidou in the very first day.

They had to convince Mary to take a moment and relax at a café, where Lilith and Zelda sat sipping noisettes to stay awake and smoking cigarettes while Mary put her French to use and planned out the entirety of their stay using French guidebooks. They saw _Faust_at Opera Bastille, all three laughing at the imagery of Mephistopheles. They made love in a cozy little flat they had rented that overlooked the Eiffel Tower, which shimmered and sparkled in the darkness of night.

They took a train to Germany, stopping in Berlin to take in the sights, to delve into ladies only bars. They walked through museums – Mary endlessly fascinated with the history – they stared at the Berlin Wall. A haunting feeling enveloped them, brought them back to have yet more bacchanal nights in bars, touching openly, laughing, loving freely and all the people about them seemed enraptured by them.

They traveled to Italy where Zelda took them to the grounds where once the Unholy Vatican had stood. It had all but disappeared, shriveled up and died along with Lucifer. They met several witches in Rome who expressed confusion by all that had transpired, but upon learning that the Zelda Spellman was before them, their eyes widened and they thanked her profusely, greatly for what she had accomplished. Word had traveled quickly in the witching community. They attended a pagan celebration in Burgos where they stripped down to nothing and ran through the groves of orange trees in the moonlight, taking the fruit from the trees and eating the oranges lazily, stickily laying atop blankets. Lilith dropped the juice of the orange over Mary's breast licking its sticky sweetness from about her nipple. Zelda sucked the fruit from Lilith.

They traveled to India where they concealed themselves more conspicuously, yet felt a majestic, magnetic pull towards the brightly colored temples, the curried foods, the warmth of the days. They stayed in a half-ruined building atop mats, a delightful courtyard offering a small pool where they lounged, feeling one another's bodies, smoking beedi, swimming naked in the hot afternoons.

They traveled to Moscow – Mary finding it endlessly romantic from her reading of Anna Karenina - where they stayed only a few days before boarding the Trans-Siberian railway, taking it all the way to the boarder of Russia. They shared an uncomfortable sleeper car, smoking and drinking too much vodka – Zelda getting motion sickness so that she drank more - delighting in the old-fashioned feel of being on a train. It was much less romantic than the movies made it seem, but they still managed to make delicious love in the stuffy, conservative air of the train cars. A man on the train tried to charm Lilith and Zelda watched it unfold before her, feeling more and more aroused the more the man paid attention to Lilith. She sat holding Mary's hand discreetly beneath the table, knowing that Mary was watching, felt the same way. Zelda took Lilith with an intense fervor that evening, Mary equally possessive, Lilith basking in the attention.

They went to Tokyo, delighting in the loudness, the lights, the hustle and bustle of the streets. It was a world so foreign to them, yet not so different from New York. They went to the Imperial Palace, delighted in the East Garden where they sat beneath a cherry blossom tree. They took tea at Kantoku-tei, they went to Roppongi in the night to erotic shows that left Mary wanting, needing, and they took her back to their hotel to have their way with her.

It was on their third day in Japan that Lilith looked to Zelda. They were sharing breakfast atop mats overlooking a serene forest on the patio of the little hut they were staying in the Miyazaki Prefecture. They could hear the birds flying about in calm, stillness of morning, the distant sound of a stream. The light floated serenely through the trees before them. Mary sipped her tea, studying a book of Japanese that she had picked up. She was enamored with the language, with the sounds the vowels made -almost Italianate in their pronunciation.

She was glowing, looking radiant from good sex and traveling. It had agreed with her to see the world. She wore her hair down, unashamed. Her cheeks were colored in well, her lips red and swollen from their previous night's activities. Lilith and Mary looked at her admirably, enjoying her equally.

Zelda flipped the edge of her newspaper and sat it down atop the table. She lifted her tea cup to her lips and Mary glanced up at her. Mary seemed to notice then that they were both looking at her.

"What is it?" She asked.

Lilith smiled at Zelda and then covered Mary's hand. "There's something I've been wanting to show you. Today is the day for it."

Mary's brow creased.

"Come on. Put on something to hike in. We have a ways to go."

They hiked to the first tier of stunning blue waters, Mary enchanted by the glassy green surface of the water. It was picturesque, quiet here in the mountains. "Is this it?"

Lilith shook her head. "No, it's up further."

Zelda groaned under her breath, but followed along. Knowing what it was that Lilith was getting at. So it made the ascent worth it. They walked past several other pools, the day's heat catching up to them, making sweat pool on Zelda's forehead, between her breasts, her legs. She'd rather have been working up this kind of a sweat back at their lodging, but she trudged forward.

It was some time before they reached the curve of two pools, the sound of flowing water greeting them.

"It's beautiful." Mary commented, not grasping it significance.

Lilith turned to her and smiled, reaching for her hands. "Have you ever heard, Mary, about the Fountain of Youth?"

"Well," Mary frowned, "certainly. Ponce de Leon tried to find it in Florida."

Zelda laughed, catching her breath. She really needed to cut back on the cigarettes. "What a fool. To think it could possibly be in the New World."

Lilith smiled at her. "Yes, it wasn't there at all. It's always been here. Asia has always held mystical powers. They've had spiritual practices that stretch back further and longer than Christianity. I've known of them for years, have always delighted in visiting to feel their energy." Lilith breathed in the fresh air about them. "This, this is the true Fountain of Youth."

Mary looked from them to the pools, beginning to grasp what it was that they were doing there.

Zelda smiled, put her arm about Mary. "We cannot make you a witch, but we can give you the gift of slowed life so that we can age together. But only if you want." She pressed her lips to Mary's warm, sweaty neck. "The choice is yours, but we do hope that you would want to grow old with us. We couldn't imagine…"

Mary had tears in her eyes when she turned to face Zelda and Lilith. She was shaking her head. "Of course, of course. It feels…it feels as if my life has only just begun."

"You'll do it?" Lilith was beaming.

Mary nodded, wiping at her cheeks. And Zelda pulled her against her, kissing her as Lilith undressed Mary. Zelda turned to undress Lilith as Mary undressed Zelda and the three stood at the edge of the silent, abandoned spring, all taken by the luminous waters that shown blue-green in the gleaming sunlight.

They clasped hands, Mary between them. Stepping into the water, ripples moved out from them, disturbing the surface of the water. They took Mary deeper, further into the spring. When they reached the middle of the pool, Zelda and Lilith stood on either side of Mary, placing their hands on her. Lilith looked to Zelda and they whispered the sacred words, chanting in Latin, a wave of energy passing from one to the other through Mary. The feeling grew stronger and stronger until the spell was cast and then they dunk Mary in the water, submerged her beneath the life-giving surface.

And when she emerged she was beaming, laughing.

"Do you feel any different?" Zelda inquired.

"Not at all."

"Then I think it's worked." Lilith laughed, pulled Mary to kiss her.

Zelda wrapped them up in her arms, kissing them both in the coolness of the water.

And then she flipped onto her back, staring up at the cloudless sky, floating in the calm, stillness of the water. And everything felt perfect as it had never felt before.

There would be trials ahead, there would be uncertain nights, demons to battle and wrestle with, but something told her that the worst was behind her.

Now, now she could live as she had not before, truly herself.


End file.
